Perfectly Confused
by HaiCas
Summary: Sam and Dean are raising their very teenage sister. She's a careless and reckless member of the family business with a desperate need to be loved. The Winchester brothers have been to hell and back, but can they put up with the endless hormones, puberty, and boys?
1. Prologue

Sam and Dean both remembered the day they met Imogen. Both were hesitant, and neither had spent much time around a child of her small size and young age. How old was she? Neither Sam nor Dean could remember. She was tiny for her age, she looked much younger than she was, something that would continue on throughout her life, but she was also smart as they come.

The day they met her wasn't unlike any other. Sam had answered a call on one of John's old phones. It was a woman named Lucy looking for John, there was a hunt near her place. She explained that she met John a few years back when he worked a case there. She wanted John to come, but when Sam told her that John had been dead for a while she still insisted the brothers come, knowing those were his sons.

Dean remembered the case and Lucy, it was a vampire nest he and John had taken care of while Sam was staying with Bobby and finishing up high school. He also remembered that Dad had managed to shack up with the lady and thought it best to warn Sam just in case Sam got any funny ideas.

"Thanks for the trauma," Sam said, squeezing his eyes shut at the news.

"You're welcome, Sammy," Dean quipped with delights as he started up the car and pulled away from the gas station they had been at when they got the call.

Quickly he rerouted himself. The two had been heading to Sioux Falls for an impromptu visit with an old drunk since they hadn't caught wind of a case in a week, but thankfully now they had something. Lucky for Lucy, Sam and Dean had just crossed the Missouri line, so they were at Lucy's house in Atlanta, Georgia by the next morning.

Dean remembered the house, he and Dad had spent about a week in it, they had to make sure the vampires were really gone- or so that's what John had told Dean. The older Winchester brother knocked on the door and waited. Several long moments passed by and the brothers exchanged looks, both wondering if anyone was actually going to answer.

Finally a tall, short haired, blonde woman did. She smiled, recognizing Dean and hugging him, "You look just the same, Dean," she kissed his cheek and then turned to Sam, "You must be Sam," she said, "John wouldn't shut up about you. He was damn proud of you."

Sam tried to hide his shock and embarrassment. Even after everything they had been through, Sam still had a hard time believing the man was ever proud of him, even when it was told directly to him. He'd made his peace with his father, but coming from someone who had known John… intimately… it made Sam a little uncomfortable, "Thank you," was all he could think to say.

The woman smiled and then jumped a little, "Oh, you boys should come in. I just made my daughter breakfast, but there's plenty if you're hungry.

Sam started to politely decline, but Dean cut him off, "We would love to, Ms. Remington," he pushed past Sam and made his way into the kitchen which was visibly down the hall.

"Please," she began, leading Sam into the house and down the hallway into the kitchen, "Call me Lucy, you've earned the right," she walked over to the cabinet taking two plates down and loading them both up with the left over bacon, eggs, and pancakes, setting a plate in front of the both of them.

Dean immediately attacked his, not caring who was around and who was disgusted by the sloppy way he piled the food into his mouth. Sam, on the other hand, ate slowly and more politely than his brother.

"Thank you, Lucy," Dean said to the woman, "This is fantastic," he blurted, food flying unknowingly from his mouth as he spoke.

Sam let out an almost inaudible groan as he met the blonde woman's eyes and nodded, chewing his food and swallowing it completely before taking a drink of his coffee to rinse out his mouth, "Yes, very good. Thank you."

She smiled and nodded, glancing through a door that was right off the kitchen, "The little one is probably hungry. I'll be right back. You two make yourself at home," she said, heading through the door and up the stairs.

Sam shot Dean a bitch-face that could kill, "Dude!" he barked in hushed tones, "Where are your manners?"

The glare that Dean shot back at his brother was equally as bitchy as the one he had been given, "Brother, live a little. How often do we get homemade, tasty grub? And not something we have to microwave at a gas station?"

A sigh escaped Sam, he shrugged his shoulders, and went back to eating his food. Dean did have a point after all, this food was pretty good.

A few moments later Lucy came back into the room with a young girl at her side, she helped the little girl into a chair at the head of the table, adjacent to both Sam and Dean, "Imogen, this is Dean," she patted the older Winchester's hand, "And this is Sam," she did the same, "They are good friends of Mommy. They are gonna help us out for a little while, so please be nice to them."

Imogen nodded slowly and picked up a piece of bacon from her plate, taking a small bite, "It's nice to meet you," she said, looking back and forth at the two men, then she looked up at her mom, "I thought you said Daddy was coming to help?"

The look of horror that crossed Lucy's face went unnoticed, as neither Sam nor Dean thought anything of this, they both just continued on with their breakfast. Dean chugging a glass full of orange juice made the little girl laugh.

"It's nice to meet you too, kiddo," Dean said, smiling at the young child.

The girl blushed and picked up her toast, taking a small bite of it and setting it back on her plate, "I'm not hungry Mommy, can I go play?"

Lucy groaned, "Em, you barely touched your breakfast," she paused to collect herself, "Fine, go to the playroom and stay there. I need to talk to Sam and Dean."

Imogen squealed as she jumped down from her chair and made her way out of the kitchen and out of sight.

Dean and Sam both finished up their breakfast and Lucy cleared their plates. Taking them to the sink and rinsing them off before putting them into the mostly empty dishwasher.

"So, what do you have that you think's our thing?" Dean asked, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his overfull belly.

Lucy pulled out a newspaper and set it on the table in front of the Winchester brothers. The headline read: "Two Teens Found Dead, hearts ripped out. Suspected animal attacks". She gave them both a moment to look over the article before continuing.

"It's not the only incident, the last three months at least two people a month have been murdered with their hearts ripped out, and sometimes more than that," she told the boys, "It's probably vampires, right?" she asked, "Like last time?"

Sam was still reading the article to completion while Dean spoke, "No, probably not. Vampires don't really care about organs, they just want blood," he told her, "It sounds like a werewolf to me. What do you think, Sam?"

The long haired Winchester nodded, still finishing up the article before setting it down on the table, "The lunar cycle is right."

Lucy looked to the both of them, "A werewolf?" she said softly, "Woah."

Dean nodded, "Good news is they are a little easier to kill. All we gotta do it shoot it full of silver. Bad news is tonight is the last night of the full moon, so we've gotta find the son-of-a-bitch tonight, or it'll be another month before we can try again," he took a drink of coffee.

"You said this started about three months ago?" Sam asked.

Lucy nodded, "Three months exactly."

Both of the Winchesters exchanged glances, "All right…have all the attacks been happening in the same place?" Dean asked, "Or around the same location?"

Lucy looked at him, "Actually yeah," she nodded.

Dean smirked, "Awesome, that'll make finding the thing all the much easier."

Sam nodded in agreement, "Yeah, give us the address and we'll go stake it out tonight. Come back in the morning and let you know what we find?"

A smile played across the middle-aged woman's face, "Just like your daddy," she said, "I'll make sure to have a nice breakfast made for you boys," she hugged the both of them and walked them to the front door, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Dean smiled and then looked down as Imogen appeared at her mother's side, "Sammy and I will see you again for breakfast tomorrow, Princess," he winked playfully at her, causing her to hide her face in her mother's clothing.

Sam and Dean both let out a chuckle as they made their way to the Impala and got inside, the engine roared to life and the two took off down the street and out of site.

"Why are they in Daddy's car?" the little girl asked.

Lucy smiled down at her daughter, "I'll tell you later, come on. You need to get dressed."

Imogen nodded and ran up the stairs to her room.

The next morning, as promised, Lucy was in the kitchen making breakfast, and lots of it, in preparation for the Winchester brothers. Though, something was different about this morning. Her whole body was sore, and she was covered in scrapes and bruises. There was also a long gash extending from her elbow to her wrist that she had no recollection of getting. She pulled on a robe to cover it up, not wanting to frighten her daughter. Lucy was concerned herself. Sure, she'd had a glass of wine before bed, but not enough to have made her blackout and not remember how she injured herself.

The doorbell rang just as Lucy had set the table and buttered the last piece of toast. She set the utensils down on the counter and headed to the receiving area of the house. Before opening the front door she called up the stair, "Imogen! Get your butt down here, breakfast is ready," she paused and smirked, "and Dean is here!" she chuckled, her daughter hadn't shut up about the dreamy Winchester since yesterday.

Before Lucy could even get the front door open her daughter was bounding down the stairs in her Hello-Kitty pajamas, eyes wide and obviously searching for the man. "Go, you're breakfast is waiting at the table," Lucy pointed down the hall and watched her daughter go before opening the front door. The boys stood side by side, looking much more worn out and exhausted than the day before. She let the two in, noticing the bruises and scabs covering them, "You boys look like hell," she said, ushering them both into the kitchen and sitting them down.

"Eat, you two need all the strength you can get," she said with a smile on her face, "How did the hunt go?" she asked, looking at her daughter who's eyes hadn't left Dean since he had entered the room, "Did you…. Ya'know?" she asked, wanting to be discrete.

Sam and Dean exchanged long, sorrowful glances before looking back at Lucy.

"Did it not show up?" she asked, looking at the both of them.

Dean took a deep breath, "No, we found it. We know who it is. We just didn't take care of it."

Lucy frowned, "Why not?" she asked, "I thought that's what you came to do."

"Yeah, it was," Sam said slowly, "It is."

"Would you mind sending your daughter out of the room? That way we can talk?"

Lucy didn't like the way this conversation had turned, but she trusted the Winchesters so she obliged, "Imogen, please go upstairs and shower and get dressed."

Imogen started to argue, but when she looked at her mom and saw the 'I mean business' look on her face she went without a word.

Lucy stood up and started to clean up the breakfast mess, "What's going on?" she asked, turning back around and flinching a little as Dean was standing right in front of her.

"I've got a kind of weird question to ask you," he let out a long sighed, "Have you, uh… been bitten by like a stranger or something in the last few months?"

Lucy was a bit taken aback, "What the hell kinda question is that?" she barked, "Of course I haven't been bitten by anyone…" but then she trailed off for a moment, "Wait… you don't think I'm the werewolf… that's impossible."

Sam slowly approached, "No, not impossible," he explained, "We had a friend, she had no idea she was… She would change in her sleep and wouldn't remember anything the next day."

"No, I'm not… I would never… I wouldn't kill anyone," she said softly, "I couldn't. It wasn't me."

Dean looked at her, "No, you're right. It wasn't you… It was the monster that took you over… I repeat, have you been bitten?"

Lucy scratched her head, "No, I haven't," but then she thought about it for a moment as the boys stared at her, "It was a one night stand," she then admitted, "I… I didn't think anything of it… Bar guys can get kind of weird."

It took everything in Dean not to chuckle, despite the fact that he wasn't amused or entertained by what he knew that he and Sam would have to do.

"How do I know you're telling the truth? I don't remember anything."

Dean looked at her, "I cut you with a silver knife, from your elbow to your wrist last night when you were all hulked out," he said, "You think you would remember where you got that?" he asked, grabbing her arm and not so gently pulling the sleeve up to reveal the gash.

Lucy jerked her arm away and pulled her sleeve back down, "So how do we fix this?" she breathed, "How do I not be a werewolf?"

Once again Sam and Dean looked at each other and then back at Lucy.

"You don't," Sam finally answered, "There's no going back. I'm sorry, Lucy. I wish there was something we could do."

Her heart fell from her chest to her feet, and for a moment she felt unable to breathe, "Wh-what?" she rubbed her head, "Why didn't you shoot me last night?" she asked, "Take care of this?" her whole body was shaking and she barely heard the words that were coming out of her own mouth.

"We… we thought we owed you an explanation… and we couldn't just kill you… What about your daughter?" Sam reasoned.

Lucy slowly sank into a dining chair, "But you still have to kill me, don't you?"

Dean nodded, "If we don't, you will kill again. You can't control yourself like that."

The tears began to fall and Lucy rubbed at them violently, not wanting to cry. She knew they weren't lying, she knew if there was anything they could do they would have done it. She knew she had to die.

"What about Imogen?" she said softly, mostly to herself.

"Do you have family she could go and live with? What about her father? We could help you track him down," Sam offered.

Lucy looked at the boy, "Her father is dead," she whispered, clapping a hand over her mouth, "I… I don't have any family. It's just me and her," slowly Lucy got to her feet, "There's something I need to tell you boys," slowly she walked over to the hall closet and pulled out a photo album, carrying it back to the kitchen and laying it on the table before opening it and flipping to a section.

"I promised to never tell you boys this, but I don't have a choice," she directed their attention to the photo of John holding Imogen and kissing her cheek with Lucy standing next to them, "John Winchester is my daughter's father," she breathed, looking at the boys, "Imogen is your blood… Half of it anyways."

Dean scoffed, "What? That's impossible," but then he stopped and thought long and hard about it while studying the photo that Lucy had taken out of the album. It made sense. The time all added up, "So," he took a long pause, "Imogen is my.. our… sister?" he pointed at himself and at Sam, who's face showed just as much shock as his own.

Lucy nodded, "Yeah, yeah she is," she spoke slowly and clearly, "When I die, I want you to promise me that she will be taken care of," she was talking to the both of them, but she was staring at Dean, "Promise me, please… Promise she will be safe," Lucy pleaded, "Just take Imogen far, far away from here, away from me, and I'll do it myself."

Sam looked at Lucy and took her hand, squeezing it tightly, "We will make sure our sister is taken care of," he said, "But we aren't going to leave you to do this yourself… You shouldn't be alone."

The woman shot him a look, "You don't think I'll go through with it."

"No, I think you have every intention of going through with it," Dean announced, catching her eye, "But I don't think you'll be able to," he said, "But I'll be your backup," he reasoned, "Sam can take Imogen to our motel, hang out with her. While you and I…. you know."

Lucy nodded, "Can I just spend a few hours with my baby?" she whispered.

Sam clapped a hand on Dean's shoulder, signaling that he needed to get up, "Yeah, of course," Sam said, "We'll come back tonight."

Dean nodded, "We'll be here before dark."

"The full moon is over though," she said, "We don't have to worry about me turning, right?"

"No probably not," Dean said, "But we don't want to take any chances."

Lucy nodded, "Okay, I'll see you tonight." She breathed, "Please, leave." She said, turning to head up the stairs to spend her last hours with her daughter.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter 1

"Dammit, Em!" Dean barked as he banged on the door of the motel bathroom, "You've been in there for an hour and a half! Maybe me and Sammy would have liked some hot water! Ever think about that?" he barked against the door, jiggling the locked knob roughly.

Sam, who was laying across the foot of the bed, facing the bathroom, "Dean," he groaned, "Just let the poor girl be."

"Let her be?" Dean spat, turning away from the door to face his brother, "Why? She doesn't get to just call the shots, Sam."

"I know, Dean," he breathed out, trying to maintain his cool, "But she's a teen girl. You really wanna know what's going on in that bathroom? Because I sure the hell don't."

That was the one thing that could get Dean to chill out when he and Imogen were butting heads. Just the mere mentioning of the fact that Imogen was not only a female, but a teenaged female, was enough to get him to shut up and back down.

The older Winchester let out a groan as he flopped down onto the bed next to the one Sam was on, he let his hands cover his face. "You know, things were a lot easier before she was a girl."

A small chuckled escaped Sam as he looked confused at his brother, "Dean, she's always been a girl."

"Yeah, Sammy, I know that," he began, "I just meant before she was a real girl. I mean hell, less than a year ago she still just acted like a little boy. She did what we said. Hell, she basically worshipped the ground I walked on."

Sam rolled his eyes, "She's just trying to figure out who she is, Dean. Give her time. She's at a weird stage in her life. I mean, when we were her age we had Dad to talk to about all the weird puberty stuff-"

Dean cut him off, "Dad wasn't really the best information source."

Sam shot his brother a look that cut him off, "All I'm saying is, at least we had Dad. All she's got is us. No mom to talk to about girl things."

"Yeah, yeah," he let out a sigh, "I know," he scratched his head, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "You've still gotta give her 'The Talk'," a smirk crossed his lips.

Just the thought caused Sam to sit bolt right up, "Why the hell do I have to do it?"

"Because she likes you better," Dean explained.

"You just said five seconds ago that she worshipped the ground you walked on!"

Dean chuckled, "Okay, well maybe she does like me more. But you're the one she talks to about her problems," he was going to stop there, but he thought of another piece of compelling evidence for his case, "And! You lived with Jessica, you know all about girl stuff."

Sam made a face that conveyed his displeasure, "I do not know all about girl stuff!"

"Oh my God Sammy, I'm sure as hell not doing it. So you have to."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Let's just make Bobby do it. He was married after all."

Dean smirked and lay back, "That works for me," he closed his eyes and just moments later he heard the bathroom door open.

"Good shower?" Sam asked his little sister, who nodded.

"Yeah," she said weakly, "Sorry it took so long… Is Dean mad at me?" she whispered, thinking Dean might have fallen asleep.

"No," Dean's scraggly voice popped out, "I'm not. You've gotta try a lot harder than that to piss me off," he said, sitting up and heading for the bathroom himself. He'd had a bean burrito for dinner that just wasn't sitting right.

Imogen watched her oldest brother disappear into the bathroom, and when the door was shut and locked behind him she made her way over to the couch, grabbing a spare blanket and cuddling up under it.

"Just ignore Dean when he acts like that, Em. You know he's just winding down from the hunt. Now let me see your arm," he requested, getting off the bed and walking over to her, "I need to bandage it."

It was true. Sam, Dean, and Imogen had just tracked and killed a wendigo and it had been a close call. Both Sam and Dean had insisted that Imogen stay at the motel and wait. She was allowed to accompany them to hunts, help with research, and tracking. But they never allowed her to actually join when they knew they were going to be killing something. Well, this wendigo was the first time Imogen had been brave enough to ignore her brothers' orders and she followed them sneakily to the hunt.

Imogen didn't have much practical experience in hunting. Everything she knew about the supernatural was from books, and tips she had picked up from hunters. She knew to salt doors and windows, and of course her exorcisms. And sure, every now and again the trio would get ambushed by a demon or a monster of some sort, but Sam and Dean always managed to handle it and kept her safe.

The young teen decided she was old enough to hunt, and she knew her brother's would never agree unless she somehow managed to prove it to them that she was good enough to join them. She hated being left at the motels to sit and wait and worry until her brothers came back all beaten to hell and in need of some first aid. The one useful skill that Imogen did possess was first aid. Since she was usually alongside her brothers, and they were always getting hurt, she's had to stitch them, cauterize wounds, pop limbs back into socket, and even on occasion set a broken bone or two. She was basically Doogie Howser M.D...

Imogen knew where the wendigo was staying, she and the boys had tracked it together, so after they left her at the motel she found her own way there. It wasn't far from the motel, maybe two or three miles. The wendigo was in a cave not far into the forest. She wasn't far behind her brothers and watched as they disappeared into the cave. She waited about five minutes before she followed suit, didn't want to be caught and drug back home. She could help, and she would help. She was sick of being left behind.

Upon coming to a fork in the cave Sam and Dean had stuck together and gone down the right side of the cave. Imogen had no way of knowing this, but she picked left and followed it down. It was dark and cold inside of the cave and the further she made her way into the cave the more scared she was getting. She even started rethinking her decision to come along on the hunt. Her brothers had no idea she was here, so if she got lost they would have no idea where to look for her.

As she walked her footsteps echoed off of the walls of the cave, nothing too strange about that. She tried to tread lightly, but even so she still made noise. Until suddenly the noise of her walking stopped all together, and that's how she knew something was about to happen. She froze, even her breathing stopped. She stood for several moments and just listened, finally hearing the loud and uneven breathing of the wendigo, and wanting to kick herself for not hearing it fifty feet ago because she was too scared to pay attention.

The monster knew that Imogen was there, it had been able to smell her a hundred yards away. It knew she would be easy prey. What the monster didn't expect, however, was the fact that Imogen had come prepared. So as the wendigo scooped her up and she screamed, she also pulled the trigger on the torch she was carrying and lit the monster up. It shrieked in pain as it dropped her, withered, and crumpled to the ground, burning to death.

Imogen scooted herself as far away as she could from the monster and kept her back against a cave wall. Now everything was completely dark and she no longer had a source of light. Before she'd had a flashlight that she had for an emergency, but that broke when she had fallen from the wendigo's grasp. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. Her arm was burning white hot, and she knew that she had probably burned herself badly.

Slowly the young girl counted to ten in her mind, rocking back and forth. This was the way that Bobby had taught her to calm herself down. Just count slowly until you feel calm enough. She would have kept counting, but upon reaching ten she heard people approaching in a run. She was grateful that Sam and Dean hadn't seen her mini freak out, if they had that would have been the end of her hunting career.

The men lit up their own flashlights as they approached the red embers of what used to be the wendigo.

"Is there another hunter working the case?" Sam asked, his eyes not leaving the remains of the beast.

Dean slowly turned in a circle, shining his flashlight over the nearby area of the cave, finally landing on his sister, who had backed herself into a corner, trying not to be seen. The look of disappointment that fell across her brother's face made Imogen's stomach flip.

"Yeah, another hunter," Dean's voice was sharp and angrier that it had been before.

The tone of Dean's voice made Sam flip around and watch in shock as Dean grabbed his sister by her arm and start to drag her out of the cave.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Dean spat loudly, gripping the small girl's badly burned arm with all his strength.

"Ow! Dean!" she cried out, "You're hurting me!" she did her best to pull away from him as they made it to the mouth of the cave.

"Yeah, well consider this a taste of what you're going to get later!" he yelled.

As they got outside into the daylight, Sam forced his way between the two so neither could cause any physical damage to the other that they would regret, "Okay! Knock it off you two!" Sam demanded, but to no avail.

"You're such an asshole, Dean Winchester!" the girl yelled, turning her back to her brother and taking a few steps towards the cave, but not reentering.

"I'm an asshole?" he scoffed, sounding almost hurt, "Yeah, I'm the asshole for wanting to keep my idiot sister from getting herself killed?" he too turned away, facing the forest.

"Oh, so now I'm an idiot!" she screamed over her shoulder, looking down to see the burned and bloody mess that was now her arm.

Dean almost popped off with something cold and thoughtless, but one look from Sam told him that he needed to control himself, "No, you're not an idiot," he breathed, running a hand through his hair, "But going after the damn monster on your own has got to be one of the stupidest damn things you've ever done. You realize, Sam and I had no damn idea you were even with us? What if the wendigo had gotten you? You would have just been gone and we wouldn't have known where. You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Imogen shook her head and turned to meet the eyes of her brother, "Well, I didn't. I can be a hunter. Just like you and Sam, you've gotta trust me."

Sam watched as Dean's hands tightened into fists. The three of them had already had this conversation, literally dozens of times. Imogen wanted to hunt, she wanted to join 'the family business', and Sam and Dean were against it. Imogen pestered them both about this so much and it drove them absolutely nuts.

"Em, we've talk about this," Sam started to explain, but Imogen cut him off.

"I'm so sick of the excuses!" she yelled, "Both of you started hunting way before you were in your teens! Why can't I?" her voice reached an almost inhuman pitch.

"Because," Dean grunted loudly, "It's too dangerous for you," he said, "It's mine and Sam's job to protect you. You showed us just how childish and irresponsible you are by sneaking onto this hunt. You're obviously not ready for the job."

"Dean," Sam said in a hushed tone, trying to convince his brother to stop.

"No, Sam. If she's gonna act like a baby then I'm gonna treat her like one," he said, plenty loud for everyone to hear.

"Dean!" Sam spat again.

But it didn't help, because Imogen had heard enough and she turned and brushed passed her brother roughly, "I hate you," she muttered as she stomped through the forest, past the Impala and headed the direct route back to the motel.

It took Imogen about an hour to get back to the motel, and she texted Sam to let him know she was safe. It wasn't him she was mad at anyways. He had also texted her to let her know that he and Dean were out on a food run, and would return shortly. It was rare that Imogen had the room to herself, so she stripped down and got into the shower, turning the tap to hot and standing under the burning faucet. It was nice, the sting of the shower. And what was even nicer was the fact that Dean was going to end up either going to bed filthy or taking an ice cold shower tonight.

After the loud and obnoxious encouragement from her brother to get out of the shower she did, and was happy by the fact that almost as soon as she came into the room that Dean left it to use the bathroom. She picked up the sack of food that was sitting on the little table and pulled out one of the burritos and unwrapped it, taking a bite and immediately spitting it back into the bag.

"Ew," she said, with a look to match as she offered out her injured arm to Sam who had requested to doctor it, "Dean's choice?" she asked in reference to the food.

Sam smiled a little, "Yeah, Dean's choice. I got a power bar though if you'd rather have that," he offered, gently cleaning her burn and then wrapping a clean bandage around it, "There, much better." He hand her back her arm and went to his duffel, retrieving the power bar and tossing it to his sister.

"Thanks Sam," she smiled as she unwrapped it and took a bite, "Mmmm," she let out an unnecessary groan as she enjoyed the food. When she was done she tossed the wrapper into the trash and cuddled back up under her blanket, pulling it up to her chin and turning over on the couch so she wouldn't be facing the guys.

Imogen always was the one who ended up sleeping on the couch, or on the rollaway beds, and sometimes even the floor of motels. When she was younger she could get away with sneaking into bed with one of her brothers, but after a while that got to be a little awkward. Then she went through a period where she insisted that they take turns with the couches and beds. But the guys would wake up with cramps and stiff necks, and since Imogen was the smallest it went back to her being the one cuddled up on the couch.

For a while they talked about getting two rooms, but then the argument of who gets a room to themselves arose. Imogen argued that she should get it because she was the only girl, which was shot down by both Sam and Dean as they felt the need to watch over her. Dean figured he should get the room to himself since he was the oldest, but inevitably they all just ended up sharing one room. It was cheaper that way.

When Bobby traveled with them they did end up getting two rooms. Usually they split up to where Sam and Dean shared a room and Bobby and Imogen shared one, sometimes Dean would share with Bobby and Imogen with Sam, but usually it was Imogen and Bobby. From the outside looking in, it might have seemed weird that Imogen, being a teen girl, had virtually no privacy from these men. But she made do. She didn't know the difference.

Since her mother died and Imogen had come to live with the Winchester's she had known no other life. She hadn't gone to school since the day she joined them. Now, that's not to say that she hadn't gotten an education. She knew what she needed to know. Sam homeschooled her for a while, and she learned the important stuff like hunting, tracking, and keeping herself safe from her brothers and Bobby.

She didn't know any other life, she just barely remembered her mother, so she didn't miss it. She loved her brothers, they meant everything to her. And all she wanted to do was to make them happy.

There were things Imogen didn't know though, things Sam and Dean had lied to her about. Like her mother's death. They told Imogen that her mother was killed by a werewolf, and not that Dean had actually killed the woman for being a werewolf. It was simpler to explain to her that way, Sam and Dean had agreed. And that way she wouldn't blame Dean for her mother's death. They told Imogen that they had rolled into town, met with her mom who told her about their sister, and then the next night the werewolf came. In their fictionalized story Dean did add that he managed to take out the monster that had killed her mother- which wasn't actually a complete lie if you think about it.

Hours passed and Imogen tossed and turned on the couch. Generally she didn't have a problem falling asleep after a long day of work. And especially today, she was absolutely exhausted from her first real hunt. But her mind wouldn't shut off. She kept replaying the scene between her and Dean outside the cave over and over in her mind. It wouldn't stop. She'd told Dean she hated him, something she had never done before. She'd regretted it as soon as she was out of sight. She had wanted to turn back and apologize immediately, but she wouldn't let herself. She hadn't seen the look of pure hurt and shock that had passed over the older Winchester's face when she had said it.

Dean hadn't acknowledged what had happened, in fact he had just acted later as if nothing at all had happened. That was Dean, he liked to push problems down and pretend like they hadn't happened. He didn't like to talk about problems or deal with them. If you didn't mention them, it's like they never even happened, in his mind. Especially when it came to his sister, he was always afraid of making her cry and he just didn't know how to deal with crying females.

So she tossed and turned before laying still and listening to Sam's loud snoring. After several years of sleeping in close quarters with her brothers on a daily basis she knew exactly what their individual sleep noises sounded like. Imogen was a little confused when she didn't hear any noise coming from Dean, as his snoring was usually louder than Sam's.

She slowly sat up in the dark room and looked around. She couldn't see much, but the moon was casting a bit of light through the crack in the curtains, shining across Dean's face. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't sleeping. Imogen was pretty sure of that.

"Dean," she whispered softly, not wanting to wake Sam.

Several moments passed and she thought he may actually be asleep, but then he answered her call with a low grunt, "Hmmm?"

She cracked a smile, "Are you awake?"

Slowly Dean sat up and ran a hand through his hair, "Yep.. You okay?" he too kept his voice low, not to wake Sam.

"Can't sleep," she told him, "Gonna go for a walk," she slipped her shoes on her feet and stood up, looking at her brother for his approval.

He let out a groan, "Em, it's the middle of the night. You can't go out by yourself."

"Then come with me?" she suggested with a shrug and walked slowly over to the door.

Dean groaned again loudly but flipped his legs over the side of the bed and started to pull his boots on, "You're gonna be the death of me, kid."

Imogen smirked, "I know," she stated proudly as she opened the door and stepped outside. It was a bit chilly and she wished she had brought a jacket, but not enough to step back inside and grab one.

A few moments later a jacket-clad Dean stepped outside, handing Imogen her jacket and helping her put it on, "You forgot this," he informed, and the pair began to walk around the perimeter of the motel lot they were staying in.

"So what's on your mind?" Dean asked, pulling his jacket around himself tighter to brace the wind.

Imogen took a deep breath, she knew Dean hated talking about feelings, but she needed to apologize. She had been in the wrong earlier and she knew it, "Dean, I'm so sorry."

The man hesitated, "Em you don't have to-"

"Yeah, I do. I screwed up going into that hunt. You're right, I could have easily gotten myself killed. And you're also right about me being an idiot," the two were still walking as they were talking, but Imogen was staring down at her feet, "And I'm sorry for saying I hated you. I was just mad."

Dean pulled his sister to a stop and put a hand on each of her shoulders so she would be facing him. She kept her head bent down, "Imogen, look at me," he requested, softly, and she obeyed, "Sammy and I are just trying to take care of you. You're not an idiot, but what you pulled back there was incredibly stupid."

Imogen nodded in agreement, "I know, Dean… I just wanted to show you that I could do what you and Sam do. I can be a hunter!" she pleaded.

Dean leaned his head back and let out low moan, "Em," he began, "Why do you wanna hunt so bad? You know firsthand that it's not all kittens and rainbows. You see what it does to me and Sam! You see the kinda shit it does to people. And yet you wanna sign yourself up for that," he shook his head, "Why?"

The girl wanted to pull away from him, wanted to run the other direction and not have to answer his question. Dean knew this too, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was trying to come up with a reason not to answer him, so he just held tighter and repeated the question. "Why, Imogen?" he said, softer than before.

"Because!" she barked, actually pulling away from him, "Because it's the FAMILY business. Because you not letting me hunt makes me feel like I'm not even part of the family. That I'm just some useless kid that you drag around since you got stuck with me when I had nowhere else to go."

"Em, you know that's not true," Dean began, "You're just as much my family as Sam is."

"Well sometimes I don't feel like it," she shook her head, "Sometimes I think you guys think less of me because we don't have the same mom."

"That's ridiculous, Imogen," his voice was soaked with annoyance, "You know as well as anyone that family don't end with blood. But you," he gently grabbed her chin and made her meet his eyes once again, "You are my blood. Same mom or not. Sam and I would do absolutely anything to keep you safe. You know that."

Slowly Imogen pulled away, continuing on their walk, "Yeah," she said softly, "I know that. But I need to hunt, Dean. I need to learn how to take care of myself, because one day you guys aren't gonna be around to protect me."

Dean scoffed, "You say that like me and Sam have ever stayed dead. Trust me kid, Sammy and I ain't going anywhere."

"Yeah, maybe not. But maybe I'll wanna go off and do my own thing… Shouldn't I have experience with killing those evil sons of bitches?"

It was obvious that what Imogen had just told Dean upset him. He didn't like to think about his sister growing up and leaving them, "Where the hell you gonna go?" Dean asked, trying to lighten the mood, "Gonna go shack up with Garth?" he rolled his eyes, knowing his sister had a crush on the age-inappropriate hunter.

Imogen stopped to smack his chest, "Shut up Dean, no!" but her bright red cheeks told another story, "I just mean, occasionally before I came along you and Sam went and did your own thing apart."

"Em, please. Just let this one die. Us taking you hunting is us putting you in danger," he sighed, "We gotta keep you safe."

"No, Dammit!" she barked, "I'm old enough now. I've gotta learn on the job, what if I get jumped on day and you and Sam aren't there to protect me and I get killed because you wouldn't let me learn how to protect myself?"

Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to think of another reason why hunting was more dangerous than helpful. But he couldn't. Not a single reason why, "Em, let me think about it, okay?"

The expression on Imogen's face changed from frustration to excitement, "Shit. What?" she squeaked.

"I didn't say yes, I said I would think about it," he barked gruffly.

Imogen squeaked again and jumped onto her brother, wrapping her arms around him, and squealing more as he patted her back, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Dean let out a long and slow sigh, "Yeah, yeah. Can we go back inside now?" he asked, setting his sister back on her feet.

Imogen nodded and practically skipped all the way back inside. She took her jacket off and threw it across the back of the chair. She sat down on the couch and pulled her shoes off, watching as her brother did the same and lay back in the bed.

"Night Dean," Imogen whispered, pulling the blanket up to her chin and curling up into a ball on the couch, shutting her eyes.

"Night, Em," he replied, rolling over in the bed and dozing off quickly.

It didn't take Imogen very long before she had fallen asleep. It had been a long day, she was sore and exhausted, but the future was bright for once. She hadn't been told no about hunting for the hundredth time. Finally she had gotten a maybe. That was enough for her.


	3. Chapter Two

Imogen was laying on the bed on her stomach with a pillow pressed over her head. Bitch, bitch, bitch, that's all those Winchester boys did. They'd been riding in a car for nearly thirty-six hours without stopping and once they got to the motel everyone was just pissed off.

"Dammit Dean!" Sam barked, throwing his bag down on the bed that Imogen was laying on, "Why can't you just keep your hands off of my stuff, huh? Use your own damn computer to watch porn!"

Dean couldn't hide the smile on his face, "What?" he chuckled, "Your computer is faster."

"Yeah! Because I don't download porn and it's not loaded with viruses. Seriously Dean, how stupid can you be? I mean hell, when do you even watch porn? Because me and Imogen are always in the room with you!"

Imogen groaned, even the pillow couldn't block out the noise, "Oh jeeze, please don't drag me into this."

Dean shrugged his shoulder, looking a little embarrassed only because he hadn't realized his sister was in the room until she spoke up, "I find time," he grumbled.

Sam sighed loudly and shook his head, "Just leave my computer the hell alone. I need it for research," he kept his eye down on his bag, riffling through it for nothing in particular.

"Yeah sure, Sammy," Dean replied unconvincingly still smirking.

"You know what," the larger man breathed, pulling out a pair of sweat pants, "I'm gonna go for a run. Don't wait up," he announced, walking to the bathroom to change and then as quickly as he could manage jogging out of their room.

Once the door was shut behind Sam Imogen sat up to look at her oldest brother, "Why do you have to be so mean to him, Dean?"

Dean frowned and turned from the TV to look at his sister, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you pushing Sam's buttons on purpose. You know he hates it when we use him computer. You have your own, use that."

"Ah, little sis… You wouldn't understand. Me and Sammy… Well, that's our thing. It's been that way since the beginning. It's a brother thing. He loves it."

"Uh, excuse me but no he doesn't. I know Sammy just as well as you do, if not better. It drives him absolutely crazy when you mess with his stuff."

Dean scoffed, "There's no way in hell that you know Sammy better than me. I changed that boy's diapers."

"Oh yeah?" Imogen smirked, "He tells me way more than he tells you."

"Well, that's because you're both girls who like to talk about your feelings and braid each other's nails."

Imogen rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Dean's head, "Shut up," she paused, "And quit being mean to my brother."

"He was my brother first," Dean mumbled as he started to click through the channels on the television, but was getting nothing but static, "Stupid, crummy, cheap motel TV."

With her back against the headboard of the bed Imogen clasped her hands together and stared down at the large burn mark on her arm. It had been healed up for weeks, but the scar wasn't going anywhere. Dean would tease her that it was the reward she got for disobeying her brother. But she kind of liked it, it was a reminder of her first actual hunt, where she literally took out the monster on her own.

"Hey, uh Dean," she bit her lip, nerves starting to take over, "Can I… talk to you about something?"

Slowly Dean turned his head to look at his little sister, Imogen could see fear in his eyes, "You're not pregnant, are you?"

Imogen visibly recoiled, "What?" she squealed, "No of course not," she scratched her head, "What the hell would make you think that?"

Dean shrugged, "I don't know. You've never asked me if you could talk to me before," he sighed and shut the broken television set off before scooting over on the bed so he could sit facing his sister, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," she stuttered, "I just- I uh-I," she was starting to sweat.

Concerned washed over Dean, though he tried not to let it show, "Come on kid, you're freaking me out. What's the deal?"

"I just," she took a deep breath, "You know, I asked you a couple weeks ago if you would maybe think about letting me go on a hunt with you guys."

Dean groaned and nodded, "Yeah, I remember. So what?"

"Well, I was wondering if maybe I could, you know start hunting with you guys. I mean, look… I'll be fifteen tomorrow. I know we don't really do birthdays in this family, and that's fine. But Dean, it would be the best birthday present in the world if you guys would take me on a hunt. Let me show y'all that I'm not just a waste of space, I can help."

"Em," Dean sighed, "You do help. All the time. I can't count the amount of times you've stitched me and Sam up, or popped a bone back into place."

"But I don't wanna be a little nurse!" she exclaimed, "I wanna be a hunter, like you and Sam and Bobby and Dad!"

Dean laid back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, "Imogen," he let out another groan.

"No, Dean… Seriously, you told me maybe six weeks ago and I didn't bother you about it at all. Not even once. I didn't even complain when you dropped me at Bobby's for three of those weeks and didn't even bother to call."

"Sam called-" Dean started but was interrupted.

"Yeah, Sam called. Sam always calls and checks up. So at least I knew you were alive. But dammit Dean, give me something here! Let me hunt with you guys. Hell, let me hunt alone. Let me hunt something easy. I don't care what it is, just please let me hunt! It's in my blood."

Dean's hands were pressed against his face so his voice came out muffled, "Imogen, we promised to protect you. That's what we're trying to do."

"I know," she groaned, "And I get that, but I'm old enough now."

"Oh my god! Fine, you can come with me and Sam to get rid of this ghost tomorrow, happy-freaking-birthday," he grumbled as he sat up.

Imogen flew off the bed and over to her older brother who she jumped on and flung her arms around, "Yes! Finally!" she was grinning ear to ear as she kissed Dean's cheek, "I love you so much!"

Dean rolled his eyes and gently but playfully pushed her off, "Yeah, yeah. No get some damn sleep. I need you alert and ready when the shit hits the fan tomorrow."

"Yes sir!" she jokingly saluted him as she stood up and walked over to the couch and plopped down onto it, "Night Dean," she yawned, pulling her jacket over herself to use a blanket.

A small smile came across Dean's face, "Night kid," he yawned as he flipped off the light.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Go to sleep," he said as he turned away from her and got under the blankets, "And I love you too."

The next morning Imogen was the first one awake. As quietly as she could she made it into the bathroom where she showered and got dressed in her boots, jeans, and an old t-shirt. She walked back into the room and both of the guys were still asleep so she grabbed her wallet and the room key and silently walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Imogen hadn't really checked out the town as they came in. She'd been asleep in the back of the Impala when they pulled in. So she didn't know what was around, but she did know that she was hungry so she walked up the street until she found a gas station that was open. She walked in and picked up a couple of the microwave burritos and a cup of coffee. She walked up to the check out and paid and started walking back to the motel, sipping on her coffee.

When she got back to the motel she realized that the Impala was gone, and that struck her as odd. Dean and Sam wouldn't have just let without her. She felt in her pocket for her cell phone and realized she must have left it in the room. She approached the door and stuck the key in the lock, but even before she had her hand on the knob it was being jerked open and a very concerned Sam was jerking her into the room.

"Where the hell did you go?" he yelled, which was something Sam had never done to her. He didn't wait for an answer before he pulled his phone out and made a call, "She's here at the motel," he said into the phone before he hung it up and looked back to Imogen, "Well?" he asked.

For a few moments Imogen was speechless, "I uh, I went to get something to eat," she explained, holding up the bag of frozen burritos she had brought back from the gas station for all of them to share, "Where's the Impala?" she asked, "Where's Dean?"

Sam actually looked ready to explode, which wasn't something that Imogen was used to from him. Sure, he'd been angry, upset, frustrated, and every other emotion under the sun, but he'd never directed his anger at Imogen before.

"He's out looking for you," Sam said through gritted teeth, "I woke up, saw you weren't here, tried to call you and your phone is here. I panicked and woke up Dean, he took off like a mad man looking for you. What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled again.

"I-I didn't think it would be a big deal," she squeaked out, her voice cracking. Normally she wouldn't have gotten emotional about something like this. Hell, Dean had yelled at her a million times and she rarely came close to crying, but this was Sam, "I just went to get us breakfast."

"Then take your phone!" he roared, "Or leave a damn note! You don't just take off!" he shook his head, "What the hell is the matter with you?"

A single tear rolled down Imogen's face and her mouth hung open, trying to explain herself but no words came out. She turned her head ever so slightly to see Dean walking back in the room, looking more concerned than pissed off, "Are you okay?" he asked his sister, grabbing her to check her over.

"She's fine," Sam spat, "Just went to get food and didn't say anything," he rolled his eyes, "See Dean, I told you she wasn't ready for this. We should have just left her at Bobby's."

Now that hit hard. Imogen had thought that it was Sam's idea to come and get her, that he was the one who was on her side and wanted her along for the ride. Had she been wrong about that all along and really Dean was the one who wanted her around?

"Sam," Dean sighed and shook his head before looking back to his sister who he noticed had tears in her eyes, "Why didn't you take your phone?" he asked calmly.

"I don't know," she admitted, "I guess I just forgot," she wiped the tears away from her eyes, trying not to seem immature, "I'm so sorry. I just wasn't thinking. I swear it won't happen again."

"You're damn right it won't happen again," Sam interjected, "Because we're gonna take you back to Bobby's. Hang out with him and answer some damn phone, or I KNOW go to school like a normal damn kid. Get an education."

Dean looked over his shoulder at his brother, "Why don't you go for a job or something before you say something you regret?"

Sam shook his head, "This is ridiculous, Dean. You know it is. She can't hunt, she's too young and immature."

"SAM!"

"No, Dean. Stop pretending," he looked at his sister, "He just doesn't want to hurt your feelings, but he doesn't think you're ready for this either."

Imogen's mouth was still hanging open as she looked from Sam to Dean, "Is he lying?"

Dean tried to speak, but he couldn't think up a good excuse.

"Wow," she swallowed hard, picking her bag of gear up, "Screw you both," she said as she turned on her heel to head out the door, both of her brother's following her.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked, walking in stride with her.

"I'm gonna get rid of this damned ghost," she said, not looking up at her brother as she stepped out onto the road and started walking, "The hell I'm not ready for this," she mumbled.

"Em, that's ridiculous. Get in the car, we'll all go together," Dean pleaded.

"Nope. You and Sam can take the car. I'll walk."

"You don't even know where it is!"

Imogen stopped to turn and face her oldest brother, "Really? I don't know where it is? Who the hell found you this case?"

Dean groaned, "What if just you and me go?" he asked, "Sam can stay back at the motel."

Imogen paused and was about to agree before Sam chimed in.

"I'm not going to stay at the motel!" the taller Winchester barked, "If you guys are going then I'm going too."

Imogen looked to Sam, "Then I don't wanna hear about how useless I am!" she yelled at Sam.

"I never said you were useless!"

"You said you should have just left me at Bobby's! That's pretty much saying I'm useless!"

"Bobby's not useless, so I don't see how you got that, but whatever," Sam sighed, "Look, Em, we just don't wanna see you get hurt."

"Yeah," she breathed, "I don't really wanna get hurt either but I'm just sick and tired of always waiting back at the motel wondering when or if you guys are even coming back."

Sam nodded, "Okay, I can respect that."

Dean groaned, "Can we please stop talking about our feelings and go kill this damn ghost?"

"Well," Imogen pulled out her case file, "First we need to talk to the wife. See where she buried her husband."

Sam nodded, "So what's our cover story? Priests or cops?"

"I'm so sick of playing dress up. Can't we just tell it like it is?"

Sam shrugged, "I mean you can try. Good luck."

Dean groaned, "Fine, let's just be the FBI or something," he looked at his little sister, "Guess the FBI can have a junior training cadet or whatever," he looked at Sam, "I'll make her a badge. You go find her something professional to wear," he said, tossing Sam the keys to the Impala and heading back inside the motel.

Sam caught the keys easily and turned to his sister, "C'mon, I saw a mall on the way into town last night. I bet they'll have something there."

Imogen made a face but nodded as she got into the front seat of the Impala. This wasn't a place she got to sit often, she was usually stuck in the back. Up front was a lot nicer, and sitting there always put her in a good mood. Dean had taught Imogen how to drive the second her legs were long enough to reach the pedals, but she never really got the chance to drive, only in an emergency a couple of times. Usually it was just Sam or Dean behind the wheel.

Sam pulled into the mall and the pair walked in together, they found a suitable store and Sam immediately went up to a female worker to ask for help. A few minutes later Sam and the sales associate walked over to Imogen and brought her to the back where she got her measurements taken and then the woman walked off to find her clothes.

Imogen was standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Neither she nor Sam had said anything to each other on the drive over, in fact it had been awkwardly quiet, and still was. Until Sam finally spoke up from the chair he was sitting in just a few feet from his sister.

"Look, Em," he sighed, "I'm sorry for yelling at you like I did. And saying all the stuff about sending you to live with Bobby and," he ran a hand through his brown hair, "I didn't mean it."

Imogen turned to look at him, her hands folded over her chest, "Yes you did, you totally meant it. Every word."

Slowly Sam got to his feet and walked over to his sister, "Okay, yeah. Maybe I did mean it, but it came out wrong. Look, hunting isn't what I want for you. It isn't what you should want for you either.

"Well, this is my life Sam," she said calmly, "It's my life and I want to hunt. And if you and Dean keep trying to stop me…" she trailed off.

"You'll do it anyways," Sam groaned, finishing her sentence, "Yeah, I know. You nearly got yourself killed the last time."

"Oh I did not," she breathed, "I got a little burn. You and Dean have gotten a lot worse."

"Look, Em… I love you. You know that right?"

Imogen nodded, "Of course, I love you too."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Well, I'm a Winchester," she announced, "Getting hurt is kinda the family thing. Besides, if you guys never give me any on the job training how am I supposed to take care of myself if something comes after me and you and Dean aren't around."

Sam frowned, "But you know how. You can shoot better than any fifteen-year-old I've ever seen," he paused, "You are trained."

"Yeah, I can hit my target, and I've got all the knowledge," she pointed to her head, "But you know that knowing how to do something and actually doing it are two completely different things."

A loud sigh escaped the larger Winchester and he was about to pop off with something else when the sales woman came back over with clothing for Imogen.

"Here," she smiled at the girl and directed her to the fitting room, "Try this suit on. I think it will look fantastic."

Imogen took the clothes and walked into the changing room.

The sales women turned to Sam and smiled, "Your daughter?" she asked politely.

Sam laughed and shook his head, "No, not my daughter."

The woman frowned a little, "Girlfriend?" the words rolled uneasily off her tongue.

The question made Sam flinch. There's no way that Sam looked young enough to be dating a teen. Could Imogen possibly look old enough to be dating an adult? He shook the thought away.

"Uhm, no. She's my sister."

"Ah," the women nodded, looking extremely relieved, "That's very nice of you bringing her shopping."

Sam nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I take my girls shopping. Their dad and brothers wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this."

"Well," Sam sighed, "I'm sure if she had a mom or a sister they would take her shopping," his voice was cold.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she fidgeted, "So you take care of her?"

With a frown Sam nodded, "Me and my older brother."

"Well, that's very kind of you."

"Not really, just what family does."

"Yeah, but you could have just dropped her off at a hospital or something instead of taking on that responsibility. I mean you're so young."

Sam slowly turned to look at the woman, "Look, she's family. Plain and simple. And if you don't mind, it would really like to stop talking about my personal life."

The woman nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry for prying."

Then Imogen came out dressed in a pants suit, "Well?" she asked nervously, "It looks bad, right?"

Sam took in the sight of his sister. She actually looked like a little woman. The suit she was in fit her well, emphasizing all of her curves. When had his tiny little sister turned into a woman? He'd seen her almost on a daily basis since they met.

"Sam?" The girl waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention, "Hello?"

"What? Oh, no. It doesn't look bad," he turned to look at the sales woman, "We'll take it," he looked back to his sister, "Go get changed. We need to get back to the motel."

Imogen nodded and went back to change into her street clothes while Sam went to the front with the sales women to pay.

The woman added up the total, "You've got that look," she smiled at him.

"Huh?" Sam asked, pulling out his stolen credit card and swiping it, "What do you mean?"

"The look that you just realized your baby is a woman."

Sam frowned, "Not a fun thing to realize," he chuckled sadly as he signed for the purchase.

"Yeah," she nodded in agreement, "My husband got that look with all three of our daughters. It'll get easier though. Well, until she brings some boy home," she smiled a little, "And that girl is gonna attracted a lot of guys."

A groan escaped Sam, "Don't remind me," he said, as he noticed Imogen approaching with the suit.

The sales woman took the clothes from her and stuck them inside a bag before handing it and the receipt over to Sam, "Have a great day," she smiled at them.

Sam carried the bag out to the Impala and unlocked the door, but before he got in Imogen stopped him.

"Hey," she swallowed hard, "Can I drive?"

Sam scratched his head, "Uhm," he looked at the open door and back to his sister.

"Please, Sammy?" she pleaded with her wide eyes that Sam couldn't seem to say no to.

Sam let out a loud groan as he tossed her the keys, "You tell Dean and we're both dead, you know that right?"

Imogen squealed and jumped up to give Sam a hug, he wrapped his arms around her so they would fall and then he set her back on her feet, "Happy birthday, kid."

"This is the best birthday ever!" she exclaimed as she climbed into the front seat and waited for Sam to get in the passenger before she started up the car and drove them back to their motel.

Sam spent the drive looking out the window. It was hard for him to look at his baby sister… Because she wasn't a baby anymore, and that didn't sit well with the tall Winchester. She actually was growing up, and for some reason it hadn't occurred to Sam that that was ever going to happen. He wondered to himself if Dean had realized this. He doubted it, and was curious how Dean would react when he saw their baby sister in the suit that boldly showed off the fact that she was a woman.

In that suit people might actually believe she was older than fifteen. People might actually think she was old enough to be a detective, or at least old enough to be out of high school. That fact really worried Sam, if she looked older she might start acting older and that did not sit well with him, and he knew it wouldn't with Dean either.


	4. Chapter Three

The Winchester siblings pulled up in front of the house and Dean threw the Impala into park before slowly turning around to face his suit-clad sister.

"Okay Imogen, listen up," he handed her back her fake badge, "If the widow asks for ID flash this as fast as you can without looking suspicious. Hand it to her if and only if she asks for it, understand?"

Imogen took the badge and looked at it before tucking it into the inner breast pocket of her suit, "Got it."

"Now," the oldest Winchester boy reached into his bag and pulled out an EMF meter, "I want you to take this," he handed this to her as well, "Sam and I are going to do most of the talking, questions, all that. You are just going to observe. But I want you to ask to use the bathroom, and while Sam and I are distracting the woman with questions we want you to run the house for EMF. Actually check the bathroom, because according to news reports the man actually died in the bathroom. Don't stay gone too long or the woman is going to get suspicious."

Imogen nodded and held onto the little meter, "Okay, Dean. I got this, you can trust me."

Slowly Dean nodded, "Good, because we don't wanna go digging up the wrong grave. While you are checking the house Sam and I are going to be asking the widow where her husband is buried."

"Okay," she sighed, "Can we go inside now?"

Sam and Dean exchanged glances before both getting out of the car and heading towards the door, Imogen following at their heels. Dean knocked on the door and it was several minutes before it was opened.

A frail, middle aged woman who obviously hadn't had a good night sleep in a while answered.

"How can I help you?" she asked, hanging onto the door.

Sam smiled warmly at the woman, "We're with the FBI," he informed her, "I'm Agent Wood," he pulled out his fake ID badge and flashed it at her and then pointed to Dean who did the same, "This is my partner Agent Davis," then he moved to reveal Imogen, "And this is our trainee Agent Green," he paused and waited for Imogen to show her badge, "Agent Green," he urged, "Please show your identification."

"Oh!" Imogen blushed as she pulled out her badge and flashed it before tucking it back in her suit.

"Sorry," Sam said apologetically, "First day on the job."

The woman nodded, looking a bit confused, "I'm Emma Jameson. How can I help you?"

"Well, we'd like to ask you some questions about your husband."

Emma frowned, "My husband? Why is the FBI interested in what happened to my husband?"

"Well," Dean scratched his head, "It's sort of more of a follow up. See if there could be any new leads or suspects."

"Suspects?" Emma asked, "Agents, my husband's death was an accident."

Sam looked at the widow with those puppy dog eyes, "Please, ma'am. Just give us a few minutes of your time. I promise it won't take very long."

Emma sight but relented and let the three of them in the house and led them into the living room where she asked them to sit.

"So, Ms. Jameson," Dean began, "Who was it who found your husband?"

"Please, call me Emma. And I did," she sighed, "I found Roger when I got home from work. He was in the bath tub. He had tripped and slammed his head against the wall, it busted open and he I guess bled to death"

"And in the weeks leading up to your husband's death did he say or do anything weird? Did he hear any strange noises or anything?"

The woman shook her head, "No," she sighed, "Nothing like that. I mean, he always joked about his brother haunting the house."

"Oh?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, this is the house that my husband and his brother grew up in. His brother drowned in the bath when my husband was ten. His brother was eight or nine I guess. So Roger would always tell me that he could hear his brother or that he could feel him," she paused, "I think it was just guilt or something, he blamed himself for his brother's death."

"Why would he do that?" Sam asked.

"He was supposed to be watching him, and he wasn't. Roger was never the same after that."

Dean gently patted Imogen's back, giving her the cue to go search the house. The girl cleared her throat to speak up, "Excuse me, but can I by chance use your restroom?"

Emma nodded, "Yes, of course. It's at the end of the hall on the right, it's the only bathroom in the house."

"Thank you," Imogen replied softly as she stood up and once her back was to Emma she pulled out the EMF detector and turned it on. The closer she got to the bathroom the more that the lights on the device lit up. And once she actually stepped inside of the room she felt a chill go through her body, even though it was the middle of summer it felt like it was snowing in that bathroom and it felt like there was a weight on her chest. There was definitely something in this bathroom. She shivered as she walked around, the EMF detector going absolutely crazy.

She wanted out of that bathroom the second she stepped into it, but she knew she had to wait a couple of minutes so she did and the second she walked out of that bathroom she felt immensely better. Slowly she made her way down that hall.

Dean saw her first, she looked incredibly pale and almost sickly, but he didn't say anything. Imogen sat back down next to the boys and tried to pretend like nothing was off.

"So, uh," Dean cleared his throat, "Is your husband and his brother buried in the same place?"

"No," Emma shook her head, "I cremated Roger, and his brother is buried in the only cemetery in town."

"What was his name?" Sam asked.

The woman eyed the long haired Winchester but relented, "Carl. Carl Jameson."

Sam nodded and slowly stood up, "We just want to thank you for your time Ms. Jameson. This has been a really learning experience for our agent in training," he pointed to Imogen who stood up."

"Yes ma'am," Imogen reached out her hand to shake the widows, "I really appreciate you time."

"Of course," the woman nodded, "Thank you for coming by."

Dean smiled and shook her hand, "We will see ourselves out," but he handed her a business card, "Please call if you think of anything else."

"Okay," she agreed and the three fake FBI agents made their way out of the woman's house and back into the Impala.

"Okay," Dean turned once again in his seat to face his sister, "What is it? What did you see in that bathroom?"

Sam looked at her too, "Yeah, you looked like you saw a ghost," then he paused, "Did you?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, I didn't see one. But there was something in there. The EMF detector was going crazy and I could feel something in there. Something angry."

Dean nodded, "I bet it was Roger's brother," he sighed, "We'll wait until son goes down and then we'll go out to the cemetery and dig up the body and burn it," he looked to his sister, "You gonna be okay?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Dean nodded and started the car and pulled away from the curb, "You were a natural in there, kid."

"Thanks bubba," she smiled, sitting back against the seat and closing her eyes. Being in that bathroom had really taken a lot out of her and she really wanted to rest before they had to dig up the grave later that night.

It was just passed midnight when Sam, Dean, and Imogen pulled into the cemetery. Dean parked the car and got out, walking around to the trunk to grab shovels. Imogen grabbed the bag of salt and the can of gasoline.

"So, you excited for your first official grave desecration?" Dean asked, handing a shovel to both Sam and Imogen.

Imogen rolled her eyes, "I've dug up dozens of graves with you jerks," She scoffed, "Burned bodies too, this isn't a real hunt."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean groaned, "You gotta work your way up, kid," he said as he walked through the cemetery, checking the graves for the right name, Imogen and Sam followed suit.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I'm just excited for my first vamp kill or hey my first exorcism. I have a ton of them memorized," she looked at Sam.

Sam just nodded, looking for the grave they would be desecrating.

"Demons and vamps are a little above your pay grade, kid," Dean told her, "Here it is!" he barked happily as he stabbed his shovel into the ground and started digging.

Sam and Imogen joined him in digging.

"I think I can handle them," she said, "And I've been face to face with a demon before."

Dean sighed, huffing a little as he slung some dirt over his shoulder, "Yeah, I know. I was there, remember? You cried like a baby."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "I was ten, Dean," she grumbled, "Why you gotta bring that up? I'm not a baby anymore."

Sam chuckled a little, "Em, you actually brought it up."

The youngest Winchester rolled her eyes, "Well, still. I'm older. I can exorcise a demon."

Sam nodded, "Oh I'm sure you could, you're stubborn as hell."

The girl smirked as she threw a shovel full of dirt behind her, "You're damn right," she paused, "What about a werewolf?" she asked, "I'd love to fill one of those bastards full of silver."

Both Dean and Sam stopped and exchanged looks of worry, Imogen didn't notice as she was busy digging up the grave.

"Uh, I'm not sure that's the best idea," Dean stammered.

This time the girl stopped digging to look at her brother's, whose faces were partially illuminated by a lantern they had set on the headstone, "Why not?" she asked.

"Well," Sam ran a hand through his head, "It just… We're afraid you might not be able to be objective."

Imogen glared at her brother, "Really?" she growled, "I can't be objective?"

Dean sighed and put a hand on his sister's shoulder, "Em, we just don't want you to get hurt. You know, when Sammy and I were hunting down the thing that killed our mom," he sighed softly, "We lost dad… You know that, and the thing that killed your mom is dead. I killed it myself."

She shrugged her brother off, "I don't care," she snarled, continuing to dig the grave, "I'll kill every last one of those bastards. If it wasn't for them I'd still have a mother."

Neither Sam nor Dean said anything else, instead they all spent the next hour in silence digging the grave. Finally they got to the bottom and Imogen didn't hesitate before jumping down inside and cracking open the casket.

"Toss me the salt," she yelled up to her brothers who tossed down the bag. She cut open the bag and poured it over the body.

"C'mon Em," Sam said, holding his hand down there so he could help Imogen out of the hole.

"Yeah, let's light this bitch up and go home," Dean said, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

Imogen took Sam's hand and started to climb out of the hole, but before she got all the way out her hand slipped out of Sam's and she fell back into the hole, right into the casket on top of the bones. If it hadn't been for the fact that her brother's would endlessly tease her she would have screamed. Instead she just scrambled to her feet and pulled herself out of the hole. She looked around for her brother's. Sam was lying unconscious several yards away and she started to run to him until she spotted Dean, pinned up against the tree by an invisible force. The man was struggling to breathe and couldn't talk but gave his sister a look that she knew meant she better act fast.

She grabbed the can of gasoline and poured it into the hole in the ground before she struck a match and tossed it into the hole. The casket and bones caught fire instantly, lighting up the area. She turned and saw Dean drop to the ground, but he was still moving so she ran to Sam, dropping to her knees next to him.

She cradled his head in her hands and gently smacked his face, "C'mon Sammy," she pleaded, "Wake up."

Slowly Dean got to his feet and stumbled over to his siblings, "Is he breathing?" Dean asked, squatting down.

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, I think he hit his head pretty hard," she moved her hand away from his head to show it was covered in blood.

Dean frowned and gently shook his brother, "C'mon Sammy. Wake up," he barked loudly then looked at his sister, "You're gonna have to help me carry him back to the car. Can you do that?"

Imogen nodded and she slowly got to her feet and they both put one of Sam's arms around their shoulders and mostly dragged him back to the car. Once they had him inside of the car he finally opened his eyes.

"What happened?" he mumbled groggily.

Imogen was sitting in the backseat with his head on her lap, trying to keep him steady as Dean drove.

"You got knocked out," she told him, "We couldn't wake you up. Scared the shit outta us."

Dean glanced into the rearview mirror briefly, "Yeah, we're taking you to the hospital."

Sam groaned again and sat up slowly, "I'm fine," he told his siblings, really.

"Sam," Dean began, but was cut off.

"Really Dean," Sam insisted, "It's probably just a concussion."

Dean sighed but relented, "Fine, then let's get the hell out of this town."

Imogen frowned, "Wait, don't we need to check and make sure whatever it was is out of the house?"

"What?" Dean asked, "How do you want to do that?"

"Well, I made sure to unlock her bathroom window. One of you can give me a boost and I can climb through the window, run the EMF detector."

"Em, that's unnecessary," Sam rubbed his head.

"Come on," she sighed, "It's my first real hunt, I wanna make sure we really took care of it."

Dean checked his watch, "Fine, but the sun is gonna be coming up in no time. So you better hurry the hell up because I don't wanna have to deal with the real cops."

"Deal," the young girl agreed as Dean pulled up in front of the house in question.

"Sammy, stay in here. Em and I will be right back," he sighed as he grabbed the EMF meter and followed his kid sister around to the back of the house and to the right window.

"I need a boost," she whispered to him.

Dean frowned and squatted slightly and cupped his hands together for her to stick a foot in and he easily lifted her up to where she could reach the window. She easily pulled herself inside of the bathroom and disappeared from Dean's sight.

He stood there for several minutes fidgeting awkwardly, not hearing a single noise coming from inside, "Imogen!" he whispered loudly, "Hurry up!"

And in the next instant he saw the bottom half of his sister sliding out of the window. He gently grabbed her hips and helped lower her to the ground.

"Well?" he asked, when she was safely out of the house.

She smiled brightly, "Nothing. All clear. No bad feeling, nothing."

Dean nodded, "Awesome! Now let's get the hell out of here before we get arrested," he grabbed his sister's arm right above the elbow and the two jogged back to the Impala together. Dean slid into the driver's seat and since Sam was still sitting in the back Imogen took the rare opportunity to nab the front seat.

The oldest Winchester put the car in gear and they tore out of that town like no ones business. Sam laid down in the back and passed out, he was exhausted, but both Imogen and Dean kept an eye on his to make sure he was still breathing.

"So," Dean asked softly, "How'd you like your first official hunt?"

Imogen smiled, she was still wound up from the adrenaline, "It was awesome," she whispered, "Really, I see why you guys love it so much."

Dean shifted in his seat, "Awesome?" he asked, "Sam and I nearly both died."

"Yeah," she laughed softly, "And I saved both of your asses. If I hadn't been there who knows what would have happened. I'm literally the hero for once, instead of the one who's gotta be saved," she shrugged, "Sorry, but that's awesome in my book."

Dean chuckled softly, "Yeah, okay. I get it," he gently patted her knee, "You should try and get some sleep."

Imogen shook her head, "I can't sleep. Too excited," she told him, then turned to look directly at him, "Thank you Dean, thank you for the best birthday ever."

A small smile tugged at Dean's lips, "You're welcome, kid," he yawned a little, "Hey, you're wide awake?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, probably will be for a while."

"Do you wanna drive and let me nap?" he asked, this was actually the first time Dean had ever asked her if she wanted to drive.

"Oh hell yeah," she told him, excitedly.

"All right," he said as he pulled onto the shoulder of the road and got out, walking over to the other side of the car while Imogen just scooted across the seat to get into the driver's seat, "Try not to kill us," he instructed as he got into the car and shut the door.

Imogen put the car into gear and pulled back onto the road, "Yes sir," she said, staring carefully at the road as she drove.

Dean leaned his head against the window and covered himself with his leather jacket, "Head north," he said in a yawn, "I'll call Bobby in a few hours and see if he's got anything for us," and then Dean was silent.

Imogen was giddy with excitement, and there was no chance of her falling asleep any time soon. She popped in her earphones and played some music through her phone, silently jamming out to it while her brothers slept in the car she was driving. She really felt like part of the family business now.


	5. Chapter Four

Imogen threw herself down on the bed. They Winchester siblings had just taken down a shapeshifter. It was no easy task either. The bastard had shifted into each one of them in the course of an hour and Imogen along with the boys each had scrapes, bruises, and sore bodies.

Imogen was laying across the foot of Sam's bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She let out a loud groan to let her brother's know she felt like stomped over crap.

Dean snickered quietly, "So, you've been hunting with us what four months now?" he asked, "You ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat?"

Slowly Imogen rolled over to face her brother, "Never," she groaned again as a dull ache shot through her abdomen, "Best four months of my life," her voice was quiet and she shut her eyes, trying to avoid throwing up.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say," Dean replied as he pulled the sewing kit out of his duffle bag, "Who's stitching me?" he asked as he took his tattered and bloody shirt off and tossed it on the ground. His arm had been sliced from his shoulder halfway down his bicep.

Sam took a look at his sister, hoping she would offer, but she obviously wasn't feeling up to it so he knew he would have to, "Sit down," Sam instructed and Dean joined his siblings on the bed, handing over the needle and thread.

With a steady hand Sam stitched up his brother's gash and poured some alcohol on it for good measure before standing up, "I'm going on a supply run," he told them, "Anyone need anything?"

"Beer!" Dean announced, moving slowly over to the other bed, "We are celebrating."

Imogen peeked open her eye to look at her brother, "What the hell are we celebrating?"

"The fact that you're not dead, yet," Dean told her.

Imogen looked to Sam, "Get me some grape vodka."

Sam scoffed, "You're out of you mind, sis."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Flavored vodka is for sissies and pregnant women."

"DEAN!" Sam exclaimed, rolling his eyes, "Gimme the keys."

Dean threw him the keys with good arm and then laid back on the bed.

Sam took another look at his sister, "Em, you don't look so good. Are you sure you're okay?"

Slowly the teen girl nodded, "Yeah," she said weakly, "I'm just tired, and my stomach hurts."

Dean and Sam exchanged worried glances.

"Are you running a fever?" Sam asked, kneeling next to her and laying his hand on her forehead.

Unexpectedly Imogen jerked away from him and Sam was so shocked he almost fell backwards, "Sorry," he mumbled, standing back up.

Imogen slowly got to her feet, her hands still hugging her stomach, "I'm not a damn baby!" she yelled at her brother.

Sam's hands went up defensively, "Okay, you're right. You're not a baby," he looked to his brother for help, "I just- I was worried. You look like hell."

"Oh thanks!" Imogen squealed back at him, "That makes me feel so much better."

Dean, who had just been watching the scene unfold, finally got off his bed, "Em," he locked eyes with his sister, "Sam's just trying to help. Why are you freaking the hell out?"

The look that Imogen gave Dean rivaled the one that John gave Sam when Sam announced he was leaving to go to college. It almost made Dean back off.

"I'm not freaking out!" she yelled at her brother, "God! You're both assholes!" she screamed as she flew into the bathroom, slamming the door so hard that the walls of the motel shook.

Once again Dean and Sam exchanged looks of worry.

Dean scoffed and sat back down on the bed, "Teenagers," he mumbled as he turned the television on, "Beer," he stated, not looking at his brother, "We need lots of beer."

Sam nodded as he headed out of the room and took off to the nearest gas station.

Inside of the bathroom Imogen was fuming, but instead of normally when she was so angry she would just want to scream and shout now she had silent tears streaming down her face and all she wanted to do was cry, and to top it all off she felt absolutely horrible. Now her back was aching on top of her stomach being in knots.

She needed to relax, she hadn't had time to relax in months. Imogen took one look at the bathtub and decided it was clean enough for her to have a nice long soak in. So she stripped off her clothes and got in, quickly rinsing the blood and sweat from the hunt off of her and then sitting down and clogging the drain so that the tub would fill with nice, hot water.

Imogen let herself sink down into the hot water, letting it relax her and she shut her eyes briefly before opening them again as another dull ache shot through her. She repositioned herself so that she was sitting up. She took several deep breaths, hoping to make the pain go away. She looked down at her naked body, which was still mostly submerged in the water, and noticed a small stream of blood floating between her legs.

"What the hell?" she mumbled to herself and went to check herself out, she didn't have any wounds. Then she looked over at her pile of clothes laying on the bathroom floor. She hadn't been paying attention when she took them off, but now looking at them she saw that the crotch of her once white underwear were now soaked with blood.

Her eyes went wide and she screamed.

In the ten minutes that Imogen had been in the bathroom Dean had pretty much passed out. He was completely exhausted from the hunt and the sixteen hours he'd had to drive to get the hell out of that town. But when the screams of his sister reached his ears he was wide awake and immediately at the door of the bathroom, which was locked.

"Imogen!" he yelled, pounding on the door, trying the knob, "Imogen what's wrong?"

He'd wanted to just burst into the bathroom, but he hesitated only because of the mood his sister had been in. He didn't want to give her any ammunition to use against him if he invaded her privacy. But then he heard her sobbing, actually sobbing. He hadn't heard his sister cry like that since she was little and her brother's would leave her at Bobby's. Something was wrong.

"Imogen, I'm coming in!" he yelled to as he threw his body against the door and it flew open, slamming against the bathroom sink. Dean had his hands covering his eyes, not wanting to see anything he shouldn't, "What's wrong?"

Quickly Imogen got to her feet and grabbed a towel off of the shelf to wrap around her small frame, "Dean!" she tried to scream, but her sobbing got in the way, "Get out!"

Dean shook his head violently, keeping his eyes shut tight, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

She was silent, which worried Dean even more.

"Are you covered?" he asked, "Can I open my eyes?"

"I'm in a towel," she told him, unclogging the drain to let the water drain out and she stepped out of the tub.

Slowly Dean put his hand down and wearily opened his eyes making sure she was fully covered before actually looking at her, "Are you hurt? Why are you screaming?"

Imogen took a deep breath, holding the towel around her with one hand and wiping her eye with the other, "I'm dying," her voice was almost inaudible.

Dean stepped up to his sister and lay a hand on both of her shoulders, "What?" he asked, "Do you need to go to the hospital? What's wrong?"

"I'm bleeding," she whispered, unable to look at her brother.

"You need stitches?" he asked, "Where are you bleeding?" he demanded loudly.

"I-I," she cleaned her throat and her gaze landed on her bloodstained underpants right next to Dean's foot.

Dean followed his sister's gaze to the ground and immediately he knew what was happening. He didn't want to, he wanted to be just as oblivious as his sister. He too wanted to think there was something wrong, but he knew there wasn't. His stomach flipped and in that moment he felt like throwing up.

Once Dean had seen her underwear Imogen studied his face. Now he wasn't looking at her, and all the color had drained from her face, "Dean," she whispered.

Dean fidgeted uncomfortably before looking towards the door, "Em, why don't you get dressed."

Imogen just stared at her brother, "What?" was all she could get out. Why wasn't he freaking out? Why wasn't he worried about her?

Slowly Dean made his way out of the bathroom. He grabbed her backpack and handed it to her, "Get dressed, and then I guess we need to have a talk."

"Dean," she pleaded, pressing her backpack against herself, "What's wrong?"

Dean shook his head, unable to look at his sister, "Nothing. You'll be okay, just get dressed," he slowly closed the door and then walked over to his bag and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He unscrewed the lid and took a swig from the bottle while he waited for his sister to emerge. When she finally did he took a seat on his bed and instructed her to sit on the one across from him, which she did.

"Here," he said, handing her the bottle of whiskey, "Have a drink," he told her, "We're both gonna need it."

That was odd. Neither Dean nor Sam ever let Imogen have anything more than the occasional beer. So if Dean was giving her some of his personal stash this must be something big. She took a drink from the bottle before handing it back to Dean who took another long drink.

"So, uh," the man grunted out, wetting his pipes once again with the beverage, "So teen girls… You're a teen girl."

Slowly Imogen nodded, "I know."

He nodded, pursing his lips before letting out a breath, "All women… ladies… girls whatever. When a girl becomes a real woman their bodies, uh female parts," he was starting to sweat and shake, his nervous energy leaking onto his sister, "Once a month you guys- uh girls you have this thing called a period- or uh… Menstruation. I don't really know all the gory details, you can ask Sam- he might," he took another drink and handed the bottle back to Imogen who copied him, "Once a month your lady parts bleed. It's normal, or so I'm told. Guys don't do it. You bleed for like a week, I think."

"What?" Imogen asked, drinking down the last of the whiskey before setting the bottle on the bedside table.

Dean frowned, "Please, don't make me explain it again," he begged, "I just… Bobby was supposed to tell you all of this."

"Bobby?"

"Yeah," Dean scratched his head, "He was supposed to talk to you about puberty and sex and everything," he paused, "Please tell me I don't have to give you the sex talk too."

Imogen shook her head, "No, Bobby covered that. Put a condom on a banana and you won't get pregnant."

Dean eyed her, wondering if she was joking or not.

"I'm kidding, Dean," then she paused, "So all that blood… That's normal?"

Dean nodded, looking everywhere in the room except his sister.

"And I'm not dying?"

The oldest Winchester shook his head, "Nope. But from everything I hear it's gonna feel like it."

"So," she paused, "What do I do?"

A sigh escaped the man, it was obvious to Imogen that he didn't want to be having this conversation, "I mean, there's stuff you can get at the store. Pads and tampons and stuff," he mumbled, "Sam can talk to you about that when he get back. He lived with a girl, Jessica, so he knows more about that than me."

"So," she paused, biting her lower lip, "This means I'm a woman."

Dean nodded slowly, standing up and patting his sister's back, "Yes ma'am, congratulations," he grabbed the empty bottle of whiskey and tossed it into the trash, "Do you, uh… Have any questions? I mean, I probably won't know the answer, but… Uh."

"This is gonna happen every month?"

Dean nodded, clenching his teeth, "Yeah, pretty much. Well, unless you get pregnant," he eyed his sister, "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" she asked.

"Don't get pregnant."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Please, with you and Sam when the hell would a guy even get the chance to look at me?"

Dean smirked and nodded, "Remember that, kid."

The door to the room opened up and Sam walked in, the look of relief that washed over Dean's face was almost comical.

"Oh thank God," Dean breathed, "Sammy, I've never been happier to see you than I am right now."

Sam eyed his brother, "What's wrong?"

Dean laid a hand on his sister's shoulder, "Well, Bobby apparently forgot to explain something about womanhood to our baby sister."

Sam frowned, looking from Imogen to Dean, "Oh god… Is she pregnant?"

"Holy crap, NO!" the girl barked.

Dean shook his head, "Nope."

Sam paused for a second before he understood, "Oh… OH," he bit his lip, "Did you explain it to her?' he asked Dean.

Dean shrugged, "I don't really know that much. I was hoping you would be able to fill her in a little better."

Slowly Sam nodded, "Okay," he breathed, "Guess we are going to the pharmacy. I saw a twenty-four hour one when we rolled into town," he still had the keys to the Impala and he gestured for his sister to follow him, "C'mon," he said, heading for the door.

Imogen looked at Dean as she stood up and followed Sam out of the room and got into the car with him. On the way to the pharmacy Sam did his best to let her know what was happening to her body and why. It was an incredibly awkward conversation on Sam's part, not so much for Imogen because of the whiskey she had drank had gotten her a little bit drunk.

They pulled into the pharmacy and walked in together. Sam located the aisle with the feminine hygiene products. Sam looked at the wall.

"Lots of choices," he mumbled, "When I would have to shop for Jess she always wanted the same thing," he picked up a box of tampons, "She liked these," he looked a little more and picked up a bag of pads, "She used these too sometimes," he looked at her, "There are directions on the box and stuff," he told her, "Is this okay?"

Imogen nodded, looking at the overwhelming amount of options that she had. Her head was spinning.

Sam nodded and walked down a little more before picking up a bottle of Midol, "These should help your cramps," Sam told her, "Let's go."

Imogen nodded and followed him to the check out, wobbling a little as she waited for him to pay and then following him out to the car. She tripped stepping off the curb and Sam had to help her back to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as he helped her into the car.

The girl giggled and nodded, "Yep."

And then he smelled the alcohol on her breath, "Em," he asked cautiously, "Are you drunk?"

The girl frowned but nodded, "Yeah, maybe."

Sam sighed as he shut her door and walked over to the other side of the car and got inside, "Where'd you get alcohol?"

The girl shrugged, "Dean gave it to me."

With a shake of his head Sam started the car and headed back for the motel, "Of course he did," Sam mumbled.

A few minutes later the two were back at the motel, but Imogen was completely passed out. It wasn't surprising, she was tiny and Sam didn't know that she and Dean had finished off half a bottle together. Sam sighed as he picked his sister up out of the Impala and carried her back into the room before laying her on the bed.

Dean was sitting up digging into a pizza he had ordered, "Fun trip?" he looked at his sleeping sister.

"Why the hell did you get her drunk?"

Dean shrugged, "Alcohol makes awkward talks a hell of a lot easier."

Sam shook his head, "I can't leave you alone with our sister for five minutes without you doing something stupid."

"Oh god," the oldest Winchester rolled his eyes, "It was one time, Sammy. Seriously, it's not a big deal. Haven't done it before now and I won't do it again."

Sam nodded, "Good," he took the bag of supplies into the bathroom and set them on the counter so Imogen would see them when she woke up, "You better not," he grumbled as he kicked off his boots and laid across the small couch that was in the room.

"You're gonna get a neck cramp on that, Sammy," Dean smirked.

"Shut up," the larger Winchester grumbled as he rolled uncomfortably onto his side and shut his eyes, soon falling into an uneasy sleep.

Hours later when Imogen woke up she had thought that the night before had just been a long, bad dream, and on top of that her head was pounding from the alcohol she had consumed. She ambled into the bathroom and once she looked at underpants she realized that everything she thought she had dreamed was true.

She changed her underwear again and picked up the plastic packages, reading the directions on both of them over and over again before finally getting brave enough to attempt to use them.

"I took down a damn shapeshifter yesterday and I'm afraid of a tiny stick of cotton," she mumbled to herself, laughing a little as the irony was not lost on her. Once she had herself fully protected she walked back into the room where both of her brother's slept. She felt a little guilty seeing giant Sam cramped up on that tiny couch so she walked over to him and gently shook him.

"Sammy," she whispered.

Startled out of his uneasy sleep he groaned and looked up at his sister, blinking a couple times and trying to focus his eyes in the darkened room, "What's wrong?" his voice was thick.

"Nothing," she whispered, "Go lay down on the bed. You'll sleep better."

Sam didn't argue, he stood up and took two steps before he dropped onto the bed and almost immediately started snoring.

Imogen smiled and sat on the couch, staring out the window and watching the sun come up. Sure, it wasn't the easiest life she had with her brother's, but she really wouldn't want it any other way.


	6. Chapter Five

Sam, Dean, and Imogen spent the next several weeks tracking and killing every inhuman thing they came into contact with. Sam was impressed with the ease that Imogen picked up on the hunting, she wasn't a liability on a hunt at all. Dean wasn't shocked that his sister was a natural. Imogen however, worked her absolute ass of so that she would be an asset in the family business. She wasn't taking for granted the fact that they were letting her hunt, and since she was a girl she felt the need to prove herself even more.

The more successful that Imogen was on a hunt the less worried her brothers were, and the more dangerous stuff they started hunting. The trio took out a tulpa in in Washington, lit up a rugaru in Idaho, made a pit stop in Wyoming where Imogen skillfully knifed a skinwalker, and lots of other creatures along the way before they caught wind of a Vampire nest in Nebraska.

Sam wanted to take her and dump her a Bobby's while he and Dean took out the nest, but once she caught wind of that she threw a fit. She bitched and moaned about how she had worked her ass off and that she deserved to be going on this hunt with them. Dean eventually relented, Sam was annoyed, but Dean was basically the final decision maker when it came to Imogen.

So they trekked down to Nebraska with the agreement that after they cleared out the nest they would all head back up to Bobby's and take a break. They'd been at it hard and heavy for weeks, just one case after another, and they needed to take a break before they burned themselves out. Bobby had also been bitching at them for a while for not checking in.

It was late when they got into town and Dean insisted that they all get a room and get some sleep. That put Imogen into a bad mood as she helped carry bags in.

"Dean," she grumbled, tossing her bag down on the bed, "This is bull shit!"

Slowly Dean looked up from the gun he was cleaning and at his little sister, "Excuse me?"

"Bull shit," she repeated just as loudly and matter-of-factly as before, "Right now is the BEST time to track down the damn blood suckers and you want to sleep."

Slowly Dean stood up and walked over to his sister, looking at her curiously. Briefly he glanced down at his watch and then back up at her, "Em, do you know what time it is?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, Dean. And frankly I don't give a damn."

Dean smiled at his sister, "Do you know what day it is?" he asked, calmly.

"What the hell does it matter?" she demanded.

"Humor me kid, what day is it?"

The girl let out a sigh to let her brother know that she was overly frustrated with him, "I dunno, Monday?"

"Good job," Dean smiled and nodded, like he was talking to a five year old, "Now, if my calculations are correct the last time we stopped and got a motel was last Monday. Meaning we've been camping out in the car for a week now."

"Congratulations, you can do math!" she grumbled.

Imogen had pushed him just a little too far and now nice Dean was going away, "Look," he barked, making her jump and immediately getting her attention, "You're gonna lay your ass down on that couch and get a good night's sleep our you're not going on the hunt," he paused, looking her right in the eyes, "Do you understand me?"

"Why?" She demanded, "Why can't we go out there and kick ass while there's ass to be kicked? What if they kill someone else tonight, huh? We could stop it now!"

Dean slammed his hand loudly against a dresser he was standing next to, "BECAUSE," he barked, but then calmed a little, "We all need to be sharp tomorrow. Vampires aren't fun, Imogen. They are mean and nasty bastards who aren't gonna cut us even the tiniest bit of slack. None of us have slept in a week, we've hunted nearly non-stop. And I'm not taking you into a fight that we could very well lose unless you are at one-hundred percent!" he sighed, his temper rising, "Do. You. Understand. Me?" he repeated slowly.

Imogen scoffed as her hands folded over her chest, "You can't tell me what to do," she narrowed her eyes at him defiantly, "You're not Dad! And I'll go on any damn hunt that I want."

Dean's head shook slowly from side to side, "Kid, you're damn lucky I'm not Dad. If I was Dad you'd never even made it this far," he paused when he noticed Sam was giving him the look that he needed to calm down, "You go ahead and try to test me on this, little girl. If I don't want you going on this hunt I can guarantee you won't be."

"Oh what, is that a threat?" she glared at her brother, the two were standing toe to toe, neither willing to back down. If Imogen had been Sam Dean probably would have punched her.

"No, kid. It's not a threat. It's absolutely a promise," Dean bent over just a tad so that he would be eye level with her, "If I decide you aren't going on this hunt you can bet that I will do everything in my power to keep you from it. I'll knock you out, tie you up, handcuff you, stuff you in the trunk of the Impala, and don't you think I won't just because you're my sister."

Imogen completely masked the fear in her eyes, she knew Dean was absolutely telling the truth, but she didn't let him know that. She kept her face angry and she snorted, as if she didn't believe a word he was saying.

In an instant Sam was across the room getting between them and forcing the two apart, facing Dean and keeping his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Okay!" the long-haired Winchester announced, "Looks like everyone in here could use some sleep. Why don't we all lay down? We're useless if we're tired."

Dean pulled away from his brother and walked over to his bed, sitting down on it and pulling off his boots, "Yeah, sleep," he grumbled as he threw himself down on the bed and flipped off the light. He was feeling pretty low at the moment, more than anything Dean Winchester hated fighting with his siblings. It was different fighting with Imogen than it was Sam, because Imogen was a girl and it's not like they could just trade blows and be done with it.

Imogen shook her head as she sat on the lumpy couch in the darkened room, not bothering to remove her boots. She could see Sam's silhouette move from where he had been standing to break up her and Dean back over to the bed where he laid down without a word.

"Thanks for having my back," she mumbled sarcastically.

"He's right, Em," Sam whispered, "We need sleep."

Even though Sam wouldn't see it Imogen flipped him off and leaned back against the couch. The young girl didn't even attempt to sleep. She knew it would elude her, she was way too pissed off for it. So she sat there silently and waited. Dean's snores came first, followed very shortly by Sam's. She waited a few minutes after that before she got to her feet, grabbed her bag of gear, scribbled something on a notepad for her brothers, and managed to get out of the motel room without waking either Winchester boy.

Thankfully the night was still young and she knew she would still have time to do a little tracking. She made her way to the closest and only bar in town. Imogen had a fake ID that said she was twenty-two but anyone who looked at her would be able to tell she wasn't even close. Thankfully the bartender didn't care and poured her a beer anyways.

Imogen was sitting at the bar, sipping on her beer and looking around the room for anything that might seem suspicious. There was a pretty rowdy crowd in there, especially for it being a Monday night. She was so concentrated on them that she didn't see someone plop down on the stool next to her.

"Hey there little lady," a familiar voice sounded in her ear, "Come here often?"

Imogen whipped around fast and nearly fell off of her stool, so startled by the appearance of someone. Her eyes locked on the man and she stared at him for another second before it hit her who she was staring at, "Garth?" she said, almost excitedly.

"Hey kiddo," he smiled, gently patting her shoulder, "Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to see ya', but aren't you a little young for the bar scene?" his voice was low enough so that only she would be able to hear, he didn't want to blow her cover.

Imogen smiled at him, "Yeah, uh I'm doing a little tracking. Figured this would be a good place to start."

Garth nodded, "Where are your brothers? I haven't seen any of y'all in what's it been…. A year or two?"

"Yeah," she agreed, looking back at the crowd then to Garth, "It's really good to see you, Garth."

"So," he paused, "Your brothers?"

Her mouth went dry. The girl hadn't expected to run into someone she knew, so she hadn't prepared a cover story, "Oh," she took a sip of her beer, "They are checking out other local spots," she lied.

"Well," he followed her gaze to the crowd, "Those guys over there are harmless. You're tracking the vamps, right?"

"I take it you're on the same case?"

He nodded, "Yep, I know where their nest is too. Just hadn't gone to take it out yet. There's too many of them for one man," he paused, "Hey, when did your brothers let you start hunting?"

Imogen scratched her head, "Uh, on my last birthday," she told him.

"Well happy birthday to you," he smiled at her.

Imogen smiled back, looking the scrawny man up and down. She couldn't help but blush a little. She'd had a crush on this man from the moment she'd met him. She was about nine or ten at the time, and ever since then she'd been kind of obsessed, "You're looking really good, Garth."

"Awh, thanks kiddo. That's really sweet of ya," he patted her knee, "You're really growing up. Hell, you were like a foot shorter the last time that I saw you."

"Yeah, well thank you," she met his eye, blushing some more. Damn this feeling was strange for her. She wanted to touch him, wanted to lean in and kiss him, and she'd never felt that before.

"So, do you need to get back to your brothers?" Garth asked.

"Uh, well actually. Do you think you could show me their hide out? I mean, they probably aren't there right now and it'd be good to get the lay of the land before we have to take them out, right?"

Garth nodded, "Absolutely," he stood up and helped Imogen off her stool, laying down cash for their beers and walking out of the bar, his hand laying on her back to help guide her.

"Where's your car?" she asked, looking around the parking lot.

"Right this way," he smiled, gently urging her towards a row of vehicles. He stopped in front of small motorcycle and picked up his helmet, handing it to her, "Put this on," he instructed as he threw his leg over the bike and started it up.

For a second Imogen couldn't do anything except stare, helmet in hands, "This is yours?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Garth smiled and nodded, "Pretty cool, huh? C'mon, let's get out of here."

The young girl put the helmet on her head and buckled it before climbing on the bike, letting her hands rest in her lap.

"You're gonna want to hold onto me," Garth said, reaching his hands behind him to grab hers to wrap around his stomach, "Get comfortable, it's a bit of a ride."

Imogen let her body rest against Garth's. Her hands clasped together tightly at his waist and she leaned her head against his back as he backed the bike out of the parking lot and the two road out of there like it was nothing out of the usual.

Imogen couldn't think of a time that her body had been pressed up against anyone else's for more than a couple of seconds. And even if it had been it would have been one of her brothers and the way that felt was absolutely nothing like the way It felt for her being pressed up against Garth. It wasn't weird or overtly sexual by any means, it was just comfortable and gave her a little fluttery feeling in her stomach. Something she hadn't quite experienced and she liked it.

A half hour or so later Garth was turning down a dirt path and shutting the bike off as they coasted to a stop in the woods.

"What's wrong?" Imogen asked, softly.

"Nothing," he told her, "Just don't want them to hear us if they are at the nest," he slowly got off the bike and helped Imogen off, "Help me cover this with branches and stuff."

She nodded and set the helmet down and helped the man cover up the bike.

"Your brothers know you're with me, right?"

Imogen nodded, "I was just about to text them," she lied with a smile and pulled out her phone. The girl had twenty missed calls from Dean and Sam. She hadn't felt the vibrations from her phone from the vibrations from the motorcycle, but even if she had she wouldn't have answered. The boys had likely found the note she had left and she was sure by now they knew she was missing. She shut off the device and put it in her pocket, "Ready?" she asked.

Garth nodded and led the way, "Don't get far from me," he whispered, "I'm responsible for you if something happens."

"I'll be fine," she chuckled, "This ain't my first rodeo."

The two walked in relative silence, not making conversation, but any time Imogen would trip or stumble (which was quite often) Garth would quietly make sure that she was all right. A few minutes later they reached a cliff that looked over a small clearing. There were tents set up and a large fire, there were at least a dozen vampires sitting around the fire, yelling and cheering and obviously having a party.

Garth and Imogen exchanged glances that both knew they needed to get out of there as soon as possible and without being detected. But when they turned to leave there was a large man standing behind them.

"Hey," he smiled widely, the moon light bouncing off his white fangs, "What are you kids doing here?"

Imogen was frozen in place. She had her machete on her, but she'd left the motel in such a hurry that didn't have any dead man's blood. She didn't think she'd need it, she thought all she was doing was a little scouting at the bar. She didn't imagine she'd run into Garth and he'd bring her out here.

Garth however, was more prepared. In one fluid motion he'd had his axe pulled out and was swinging it at the blood sucker. He wasn't fast enough though, because the vampire grabbed the scrawny man's arm, twisted it so it made a gruesome cracking sound, and then elbowed him in the face hard enough to knock him unconscious.

"Heya sweetie," the vampire smiled at her, "Do I gotta knock you out too or are you gonna come quietly?"

"Well," her voice cracked but she took a deep breath and gained a little confidence, "I've never been one to do anything quietly," she smirked as she pulled her machete from her belt and swung it as hard as she could into the vampire's neck. Only she didn't swing hard enough and the blade barely stuck into his neck.

The large man looked at the blade and then at Imogen, who looked absolutely terrified. He grabbed the handle and dislodged it from his neck and tossed it on the ground, "Ah, hun. That was rude as hell," he put a hand on her shoulder and roughly pushed her backwards over the cliff.

Imogen screamed as she fell. Her back hit the side of the cliff and she was rolling high speed down it, bouncing violently and hitting every bump and rock along the way. She opened her eyes just in time to see her face slam into a boulder and then everything was black.


	7. Chapter Six

Dean Winchester didn't know this at the time but Imogen wasn't gone more than a couple of hours before he was pulled out of his restless sleep. Falling asleep hadn't been the issue for him, in fact that came pretty easily, it was the staying asleep that failed him. He tossed and turned for a long while before he gave up and got up to use the bathroom.

On his way out of the bathroom, as the door opened back into the motel room and the light from the bathroom lit up the room was when he noticed that his sister wasn't where she was supposed to be. He froze in place for a moment, slowly blinking to make sure that his eyes were telling him the truth.

"Em," he said into the room, thinking maybe she was just out of sight, but then the man dashed across the room and turned on the light, looking around and starting to panic.

"Sam," Dean barked, roughly shaking his brother, "Sam wake up."

The younger Winchester opened his brown eyes and glanced up Dean, "What?" his voice crackled, "What's the matter?"

"Imogen's not here," Dean said, jerking Sam into an upright position, "Did she tell you she was leaving?"

Slowly Sam shook his head, running a hand through his hair and trying to wake up some, "No, she didn't say anything to me. Have you tried calling her? I mean maybe she just couldn't sleep and went for a walk."

Dean had his phone in his hand and was dialing his sister's number before Sam had even finished what he was saying, "She better not have," Dean grumbled, holding the phone up to his ear, "With vampires on the loose? She'd have to be crazy."

Sam sighed and got to his feet, stretching and yawning.

"I mean, seven girls. All her age, her body type, everything, go missing in this town and she takes off," then her voicemail came over the line and Dean nearly threw his phone, "Dammit!" he barked loudly, "Get dressed, Sam. We are gonna find her and she's gonna wish she'd never been born," he sat down on his bed to pull his boots on.

Sam was making his way to the bathroom when he paused and noticed a scribbled note lying next to the television and he picked it up and read it aloud, "Dean, how's this for testing you? Signed Imogen," the long-haired Winchester shook his head and handed his brother the note, "Her gear is gone too," Sam noted.

"If she's not dead when we find her I'm gonna kill her," Dean snarled, "Five minutes Sam and I'm out of here."

Sam nodded and did his business in the bathroom before grabbing his own gear and meeting his brother out at the Impala, "I tried calling her a couple of times," Sam sighed, "Nothing."

Dean nodded, "I tried too," he rubbed his head, "It was ringing until the last couple of times. Now it's just going to voicemail."

"She probably just turned it off. She's trying to punish us."

"What the hell did we do?" Dean barked.

Sam shrugged his shoulders, "She's a teenage girl. They don't make a lot of sense," he shook his head, "Did you get her GPS location?"

Dean nodded, "Well, the last place she was before she shut her phone off anyways. It's not too far from here," he said as he started up the car and they headed to where they hoped to find their sister.

The two road in mostly silence as they pulled onto the dirt road that Imogen and Garth had pulled onto just a while before. They also decided it would be best to park the Impala, grab some of their gear, and walk through the woods, coincidently down the same path that she and Garth had taken.

"Our sister cannot be this stupid," Dean looked to Sam, "Going into a vamps nest alone. She's gotta know that's a damn death wish."

Sam frowned and looked up at the sky, it was just starting to turn pink and lighten with the first signs of the morning, "We don't know that's what happened," Sam whispered, "Maybe she's not alone."

"She's not just gonna work with some other hunter she doesn't know, Sam. And hell, no hunter in their right mind would work with a kid they don't know," Dean would have went on, but they caught sight of the cliff that over looked the vampires nest.

Both Sam and Dean quickly took a step back so that they wouldn't be visible from down there and exchanged worried glances.

"Looks like she tracked 'em," Dean whispered, looking around the cliff and noticing Imogen's machete laying on the ground. He picked it up and spotted the blood on the end, "Look familiar?" he asked, looking at the handle and seeing his sister's initials carved into it.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Sam whispered.

Dean nodded slowly as he tucked the machete into his belt, "You and me both, brother."

When Imogen came to she was completely alone laying on a small cot in a very small shed. Inside the shed there was only the bed and a wooden chair. Sitting right above the chair there was a window just low enough for her to be able to look out and see that someone was indeed standing guard. She recognized this man as the vampire who had tossed her down the hill.

As Imogen started to sit up she noticed that she was cuffed to the bed. So she tried to move her bottom half and she screamed in pain. The girl had never in her life felt so much pain before that moment. She looked down at her leg and saw her jeans were soaked in blood. She didn't have time to examine any further as the vampire who had been standing guard outside the shed came inside.

"Thank God you're awake," the man had a heavily southern accent, "Was worried I'd have to come cuddle up in here with you and take a nap once the sun came up," he pointed outside to the lightening sky. He smiled sweetly at her and took a seat in the chair.

"So, what's a pretty little thing like you doing all the way out here?" he played dumb.

There were still tears in Imogen's eyes as the pain in her leg was searing, "Please," she squeaked, "Where's my friend? The guy who was with me? Is he okay?"

The vampire nodded, "Oh he's fine. He made a break for it right after I pushed you down the hill."

Imogen shook her head, "No he didn't. He wouldn't leave me behind."

"All right sugar," he smiled down at her, letting his eyes run over her body that was laying on the bed, "I'm Norman," he introduced himself, "You?"

"Eat me, Norman," the girl spat vehemently.

Norman sat there and chuckled, "Oh, don't get me wrong I would love to eat you," he lay his hand on her shoulder and slowly let it run down over her chest and to the waist of her jeans, "And I just might. But I've got a couple other things in mind first, Princess."

Imogen swallowed hard, her body trembling at the man's touch. She tried to shake him off but was just met by more searing pain from her leg, "If you're gonna kill me just do it," she snarled, "If you don't I'm just gonna bleed to death," she looked down at her leg.

Norman followed her gaze down to her leg, her left pant leg was soaked in blood, "Well," he smiled at her, "Lucky for you I'm a doctor," his voice was chillingly calm and friendly as he stood over her and started to unbutton her jeans.

"Get your hands off me," she barked, trying to pull away from him.

His hand went quickly to her wounded leg and he squeezed it as hard as he could causing her to scream loudly in pain and then she cried.

"Listen Princess," he was directly in her face, "You're gonna do EXACTLY what I want you to do, understand?"

Imogen couldn't speak though the tears, a small squeak escaped her and she nodded, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut tight and trying not to scream any more in pain as the vampire removed her jeans.

"Oh wow," he said obviously impressed, "You really did a number on this leg."

"You pushed me down the hill," she growled, opening her eyes and lifting her head up just enough that she could see the bone sticking out of the skin covered in blood and she nearly passed out.

The man nodded, "That's true, but in all fairness you tried to decapitate me before I ever laid a hand on you."

Imogen let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding, "Well then sounds like we are about even. Why don't you let me and my friend go?"

Norman laughed loudly, "Because I'm not stupid. You'll come back, probably with more hunters and take out me and my kin."

"So then it looks like you'll have to kill me," she kept her voice steady, "So just do it."

"I don't have to kill you," he whispered as he ran his tongue up her bloody leg, making her skin crawl, "I could always turn you."

A loud laugh escaped the small girl, "Yeah, and then I'll just kill myself. So you might as well drink me and kill me."

"See," he paused, licking a little more of the blood from her leg, "I don't think you would. Becoming a vampire is amazing. It's like all your problems fade into the back ground, you're strong, fast, it feels good," he whispered, "You'd love it," he said making his way back up to her face, the two's faces mere inches apart.

Imogen took this opportunity to spit directly in the man's face, which he didn't like too much and delivered a solid punch right to her cheek, causing her to yell out in pain.

"You know kid, I like you but you're about to piss me off."

"Good," the girl groaned, "That's what I live for."

Norman smiled as he shook his head, "You sure got attitude. How old are you anyways? Fourteen? Fifteen? I don't really care, I'm just curious."

"Thirty-seven," she rolled her eyes.

The large vampire let out a loud sigh, "Man, nothing is easy with girls," he ran a hand through his short hair and turned as the door to the shed was being opened and another vampire was dragging in an unconscious man. Imogen thought it was going to be Garth but saw it was Dean when he was set up and tied to the chair, her mouth dropped in surprise.

"Who the hell is this?" Norman asked the unidentified vampire.

"Dunno," he replied, "Found him lurking around the camp. Pretty sure he was with this girl and the scrawny guy. He took out four of our women before we got him. Decided you'd know what to do with him."

Norman shook his head slowly, "Just make sure he's tied up tight. I'm not done with the girl yet."

The other vampire nodded and checked Dean's restraints before walking out of the shed and closing the door behind them.

"So what, are you like the leader or captain or whatever?" Imogen asked.

Norman looked from Dean back to Imogen, "Something like that," he scratched his stubbly chin, "You know this guy?"

Imogen shrugged, "Maybe."

"Okay fine kid, I tried being nice. Tried offering you the deal of your life but hey, you wanna be a hard to get bitch that's your business," in the blink of an eye Norman was on top of the small girl, straddling her waist to keep her from moving and he ripped open her button up shirt, running his hands over her chest and leaning down like he was going to kiss her neck but instead digging his teeth in and taking a little drink before sitting back up, "You know, it's been a long while since I had virgin blood."

Imogen closed her eyes tight, squealing softly when his teeth had sunk into her neck. She wanted to throw up and push him off, but she couldn't move without screaming in pain, "Please," she begged, "Just kill me."

"Oh, don't worry Princess. I got plans for you," he whispered in her ear.

Dean was mostly unconscious. He could kind of hear what was going on in the shed, but it was like he was in a distant dream world and couldn't quite wake up. That was until he heard his sister begging to just die and then he was wide awake.

The sight of his sister lying in basically just her bra and panties (and a fair amount of blood) mounted by some very large man was not something that Dean had ever in a million years thought that he would be seeing.

"You get your filthy paws off of her," Dean growled loudly, knowing exactly what was on the vampire's mind, getting the attention of both the vampire and his sister, "I promise you, you sick bastard, you so much as touch her again I'll make your death as slow and painful as possible."

Norman let out a loud and hearty laugh, "Oh will you?" he smirked, "I can't wait to see you try," then he aggressively stuck his tongue into the young girl's mouth before letting it trail down to her chest, staring haughtily at Dean the whole time.

Imogen had her eyes shut tight, trying to block out what she knew was about to happen.

"Don't push me, blood sucker," Dean warned, then looked at his sister's face, "Em!" he said loudly, "Em, look at me."

Slowly Imogen opened her eyes to meet with her brother's.

The absolute fear and shame in Imogen's eyes could have made Dean cry if he wasn't the one who had to be strong right now, "You're going to be just fine, kid. Just fine."

"Dean," she whispered.

"Hey, look at me," the two Winchester's locked eyes, "Have I lied to you before?"

Imogen shook her head, trying to block out the fact that the vampire was still running his tongue over her mostly bare body.

"Then you can trust me, you're gonna be just fine," and then Dean was free. Imogen didn't know how he did it, but he did and in an instant the vampire was ripped off of Imogen and thrown to the floor. It took Dean several excruciating minutes with just his bowie knife to get the vamps head all the way off, but he did it and then turned back to his sister and got the restraints off of her, "Can you walk?" he asked, helping her sit up.

Imogen screamed once again in pain and had to clap a hand over her mouth as she shook her head and motioned to her leg that the bone was showing cleanly through.

"Oh my god," Dean breathed, "Okay, you stay here. Don't make a noise. Pretend to be dead. I'm going to go find Sam and make sure the place is clear. I will be back to carry you out of here," he told her before turning and finding a large knife hanging on the wall and handing it to his sister, "Here, kill anything that gets near you."

"Garth," Imogen said, trying to cover herself with the ripped pieces of her shirt as she laid back down on the bed.

"What?" Dean asked, looking confused and wanting to go and look for Sam.

"Garth's here. That bastard told me he took off, but I know he wouldn't leave without me."

Dean nodded, "Okay, act dead. I'll find Sam and Garth," he sighed, "I'll be back," he confirmed as he ran out of the shed.

Imogen pulled the blood soaked blanket around herself. There was no way that she was going to be able to put her jeans back on, not with the condition her leg was in, and she was still a teen girl who didn't want her brothers seeing her nearly naked body.

Imogen lay on the bed for what felt like hours. She faded in and out of consciousness in that time, so really she had no idea how long she had laid there when she heard the door of the shed slam against the wall. She didn't dare move though. If it was a vampire she wanted them to think she was dead (which she nearly was).

But then she heard familiar voices and she opened her eyes and saw both her brother's and Garth standing in the door. Dean rushed to her side, "Jesus, Em. You're pale."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah," she said weekly, "I need out of here."

Sam walked over and stood at her other side, helping her sit up, "Can you walk?"

Dean shook his head, "No, her leg is shot, Sammy. The damn bone popped through the skin."

Sam physically flinched, "Okay, we are gonna have to carry you out then," he said as he put one hand under her knees and she once again screamed out in pain, causing Sam to jerk away, "I'm sorry," he said softly, looking a little lost.

Dean gently pushed his brother back and pulled out the keys to the Impala and handed them to Sam, "I got her, go get the car and bring it as close as you can. Hurry!" he barked as he wrapped the bloody, dirty blanket around his sister and swiftly picked her up, causing her to groan in pain as Dean carried her as gently as he could, "I'm sorry Em," Imogen had her arms wrapped around his neck for extra support.

Garth was following right beside them, staring intensely at the badly beaten girl, "Imogen, I'm so sorry. I never shoulda brought you here. This is all my fault."

A small laugh escaped Imogen, "Garth, I asked you. Hell, I kinda lied to you to get you to do it. This is my fault."

Dean let out a breath as he walked along with his sister, "How the hell did you even know we were here Garth?" his voice was strained, but there was no chance of him dropping his sister.

"I didn't until I came across Imogen in the bar."

"The bar?" Dean looked at his sister disapprovingly, "You went to a bar by yourself? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

A loud groan escaped Imogen, "Apparently not as dangerous as walking into a vampire nest," she inhaled sharply when Dean stumbled and accidently jostled her leg, "Dean," she groaned through clenched teeth, "I have a fucking bone sticking through my leg. Is there any way we can save the lecture for later?"

With a loud sigh and a nod Dean didn't say anything else until he was met with the Impala pulling up in front of them. Sam threw the car in park and jumped out, opening the back door and helping get his sister in.

"We need to take her to the hospital," Sam exclaimed.

"Really? Because I thought we could just give her a couple of chewable aspirins and call it a day," Dean shook his head and got into the driver's seat, "Sam, get back there with her and tell me how to get to the nearest hospital."

Garth looked at them, "I'll follow you there on my motorcycle," he said.

Dean looked at Garth like he had just spoken another language, "You have a motorcycle? Who in the hell thought it was a good idea to give you a motorcycle?"

Garth nodded, "Yeah, it's a pretty sweet ride. You'll have to check it out sometime."

"You took my sister on a motorcycle?" Dean's voice was slightly angry.

"Dean!" Imogen barked, "Lecture later, hospital now!"

Garth took off out of sight and Dean put the car in drive and hauled ass towards the hospital that Sam directed him too.


	8. Chapter Seven

Imogen had to spend about a week in the hospital, went through two surgeries to get the leg set, and the swelling had to go down before they plastered up her leg. But once they got the cast on they had sent the Winchester's on their way.

Normally from where they were in Nebraska would have only been about a four hour drive back to Bobby's place in Sioux Falls, but as soon as they got into the Impala to leave the hospital Imogen got car sick. She was lying flat in the back seat when she first got the urge to vomit.

"Dean," she groaned, slowly rolling onto her side and holding her stomach.

Dean glanced into the rearview mirror but couldn't see her, "What's wrong?"

Sam turned to look at her, "Em, you don't look so good."

If the girl had any energy she would have given Sam one of the Winchester patented bitch faces, but she didn't, so instead she let out another groan, "I think I'm gonna puke," she moaned, "Dean, pull over."

Dean groaned, "Come on, Em. Don't be a baby. You're fine."

"Dean!" Sam barked, "Just look at her, she looks like hell."

"Sam, we gotta get to Bobby's. We can make it before dinner if we aren't stopping every five minutes."

And in the next moment Imogen had pulled herself up to the window, rolled it down, and hung her head out as they were going ninety miles-per-hour down the interstate. The cool air felt good on her sweaty face, but the swirling scenery was what sent her over the edge and sent vomit down the side of her brother's beautiful car.

"Em!" Dean barked, not realizing that she had puked, "Get back inside of the car."

She did as he brother said and wiped her mouth. She didn't want to tell him about the puke on the side of the Impala, knowing he was already pissy and would probably freak out.

"Dean," she swallowed hard, trying to keep the rising vomit from spewing, "Please," her voice was quiet until the literally was throwing up on her lap, and then she gagged loudly as the vomit pooled against the leather seat and poured onto the carpet floor.

That had the Impala screeching to a stop and Dean jumping out and spewing obscenities. And Imogen lay her head in her vomit covered hands and started bawling.

Sam let out a groan and got out of the car and walked around to the back, slowly helping Imogen out, letting her use him as a crutch as he gently set her down on the grassy area next to the road, "Ignore Dean," he said, meeting her eyes, "He's just in a mood. I'll get this cleaned up," he assured his sister as he opened up the trunk and got out a couple bottles of water and towels, "Here, wipe yourself down," he handed her a towel and a bottle of water before going into the backseat to clean up the mess the best that he could.

Dean was still pacing back and forth, cursing, mad as hell when he saw his vomit clad sister sitting on the ground, leaning up against the back of the Impala he walked over to her, "So what, is this like the new you or whatever? Just try to piss me off to the max?"

Imogen leaned her head back and closed her eyes as more tears spilled out, "I'm not trying to piss you off," her voice cracked, "I'm sorry, I didn't intentionally-"

Dean scoffed, cutting her off, "Didn't intentionally MY ASS!" he shouted, "You ran off, tried to take on a vamps nest by yourself, AND YOU THREW UP IN MY CAR!"

"I wasn't by myself," she said, her lip quivering and she let out a loud sob, "Garth was with me."

"Yeah! And you almost got him killed too! I hope you're proud of yourself," Dean snarled.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, hustling over to them and pushing Dean to the front of the car and away from their sister, "What the hell is the matter with you?"

Dean just glared at his brother.

"She's in so much pain, she's sick, and she's traumatized from the hunt. Do you really think yelling at her is gonna help?"

Dean took a deep breath and let it out, "No, I guess not," he sighed, "Okay, we should get out of here."

Sam nodded, "I don't think she can take much more road today."

"Bobby's isn't that far," Dean argued.

"Do you really want more vomit in the car?"

Slowly Dean shook his head, "No, I don't," he stated, "Fine, let's stop for the night. She looks pretty sick."

"Good choice," Sam agreed, walking to the back and helping Imogen limp back into the car and laying her down, "We are gonna get a motel and chill for the night," he told her as he shut her door and got back in the front, "How's the pain?" Sam asked as Dean put the car in gear and they started heading down the highway once again.

"Sucks," she mumbled, hiding her head in her hands.

"Do you want a pain pill?" Sam asked.

Imogen nodded slowly, "Yes please."

Sam reached into the back where he grabbed the bag of medicines and pulled out the bottle of hydrocodone, "Okay, you need to eat something before you take this."

"I'm not hungry," she muttered.

"Come on Em," Dean finally spoke up, "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

And once again Imogen started bawling. She didn't know why, Dean had said what he did almost jokingly, but she knew that he was upset and disappointed with her, and that ate at her.

"Dean," Sam mumbled, shooting his brother a dirty look as he shook his head, "Come on, Em. There's some crackers," he handed them to her, "Nibble on those and the take this," he said as he passed back a pill.

Imogen did as he said, finally calming enough so that she could cry silently and her brothers could pretend like they didn't notice. The next day and a half of slowly making their way to Bobby's was a complete blur of narcotics and rock music. The girl hardly remembered any of it through the haze of her pain medications, the one thing she was aware of is that she was safe with her brothers. They damn sure weren't going to let anything else happen to her.

The first night at Bobby's Imogen couldn't sleep. She'd been tossing and turning for hours in his guest room to no avail. Every time she closed her eyes she could see that vampire on top of her, touching her, tasting her, and it made her never want to close her eyes again. This was also the first time since the incident that she was alone. In the hospital either Sam or Dean had been by her side pretty much the whole time, in the car and the motel they had both been there too. Now she was upstairs in a room all by herself.

Imogen couldn't take it much longer so she threw the covers off of her body and looked down to see the ugly, white plaster covering her leg. She'd had the cast on for two days and damn it was itchier than anything. Slowly the girl pulled herself to her feet and grabbed her crutches and limped out into the hallway. She knew she was the only one upstairs and she had to awkwardly make her way down. It was no easy, or painless task but she did it without incident and limped into the living room where Sam, Dean, and Bobby were sitting around playing cards.

"Hey," her voice crackled a little as she let them know she was there.

All three of them simultaneously looked up from their cards and over to her.

"Everything okay, kid?" Bobby asked, starting to sit up.

"We weren't being too loud were we?" Sam asked.

Imogen shook her head and propped her crutches up against the wall as she slowly sat down in a chair next to Dean, "No, just can't sleep."

"Are you in pain?" Sam asked, "I can help with that."

"No, that's okay. Thanks though," she yawned, "Can I play?"

Bobby shook his head, "I think this is our last hand, we all need to get some sleep."

"Oh, okay," she frowned, feeling a little excluded.

Imogen dozed off while the finished up the game and almost didn't wake up when they were discussing taking her upstairs.

"Well, she can't sleep down here," Dean argued.

Bobby sighed, "Well, we could carry her."

"Yeah, but that might wake her up. She needs sleep," Sam added.

"I'm awake," the girl muttered, slowly opening her eyes to look at the three men, "Sorry."

Dean looked his sister in the eye and spoke to her for the first time since she had thrown up in the car, "You need to get in a bed," he said as he stood up and offered out his hand, "C'mon," he said as he slowly helped her to her feet and slowly up the stairs, getting her back into the bed and all tucked in.

"Do you need anything to drink or whatever?" he asked, standing over her awkwardly.

Imogen shook her head and pulled the blanket up to her chin, "Dean," she croaked out.

"Yeah?"

"You hate me, don't you?" she was sitting with her back up against the wall the bed was on.

Dean sighed and shook his head, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed, "No, Em. I don't hate you. I could never hate you," he looked at her, "You're my sister and I love you. Just like Sam. I mean hell, Sam was hopped up on demon blood for a good year and I never hated him," he scratched his head, "Sometimes you're gonna do stupid stuff that I'll hate, but I'm never gonna hate you."

Imogen slowly nodded, keeping her eyes low in the dark room, "Are you mad at me?"

Again Dean sighed, "Em, you scared the hell outta me. I thought you were gonna die," he paused, "I don't think I've ever been that scared."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, swallowing hard and hoping her brother didn't see the tears slipping down her cheeks.

However, he did notice and he scooted to sit next to her, leaning up against the wall with her and putting his arm around her, "I told you," he paused, "Sam told you. Everyone told you, hunting isn't fun and games."

Imogen buried her face in her brother's chest and he just held tighter to her, "I know," she breathed in-between sobs, "I messed up."

"Big time," Dean agreed, gently running his hands through her hair, "You know, I promised your mom I would keep you safe," he shook his head, "Letting you hunt hasn't exactly been me keeping my promise."

Imogen didn't say anything for a few moment, but then she cleared her throat, "What was she like?" Imogen asked, "My mom."

Dean looked curiously at his sister, she'd actually never asked much about her mom, "She was strong," he nodded, "Independent. A real stubborn hard-ass. Just like you."

Imogen rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Was she pretty?"

A scoff escaped the older Winchester, "She was drop-dead gorgeous. Like, if Dad hadn't hit that I'd have done my best to make sure I was your father," he teased.

A look of disgust came across the girl's face and she gently punched her brother's chest, "Ew, Dean. Gross."

Dean smirked a little, "What? I'm just being honest. You know, Bobby has some of her stuff in storage. Photo albums and stuff, I'm sure we could convince him to get them out and you could see for yourself."

"Really?" she smiled, "Actual pictures of my mom exist?"

Dean nodded, "Of course kid."

"Awesome," she smiled, knowing she'd be having a lot of downtime with her broken leg now was the perfect time to delve into her past.

"All right," he smiled a little, "You need to get some sleep," he kissed the top of her head and started to get up but Imogen grabbed his hand to stop him, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't," she swallowed hard, "I can't be alone. I can't sleep."

Dean sighed but relaxed back against the wall, "Okay, why not?"

"I just… Every time I close my eyes that vampire is there," she let out a breath, "You didn't… You didn't tell Sam what he tried to do, did you?"

Not even realizing until she spoke about it that this was what was bothering his sister Dean sighed, "No, kid. I didn't."

"Please don't. I just… I just want to forget about it, and Sam would give me that look."

Slowly Dean nodded, "Em, he's gone. You don't have to worry about him anymore. I told you I wasn't gonna let him touch you and I killed him," he looked his sister in the eye, "You're safe here. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"I know," she breathed, "I just don't want to be alone. Can you stay in here until I fall asleep?"

Slowly Dean nodded, "Fine, but you've gotta lay down," he slowly got off the bed and helped her into a laying position before grabbing a chair and pulling it up to the bed and sitting in it.

Imogen wrapped herself in the blanket and closed her eyes, "Talk or something," she requested softly, "So I know you're there."

"Okay," Dean paused to think of something to say, "You know, when I first met you I didn't know you were my sister," he smirked at the memory, "You didn't know I was your brother either."

Imogen yawned and kept her eyes shut, "Yeah, I know."

"You totally had the hots for me."

The girl's eyes peeked open, "What?" she asked, shaking her head, "You're an idiot."

"Shh," Dean said sternly, "You're supposed to be sleeping. But yeah, you totally did. It was the cutest thing ever," so Dean went on talking about any and every lighthearted subject he could think of until he was sure that his little sister was asleep before he left the room.

Sam and Bobby were still awake when Dean made his way down the stairs.

"Hey," Bobby said, standing up, "How is she?"

Dean let out a breath and shook his head, "I messed up," Dean admitted, looking at Sam, "I shoulda listened to you. Never should have let her start hunting."

Sam frowned, "Dean, you can't blame yourself. She wanted to-"

Dean shook his head, "No, I made a promise to her mother. That I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. That I was going to protect her."

"And you did," Sam said, walking over to his brother, "We protected her the best we could. We got her out of the nest with just a broken leg and some bruises. She's okay Dean."

Slowly Dean sunk down into a chair, "I just… I'm having a hard time even looking at her… After I saw what that vampire did."

Sam and Bobby but sat down so they were all on the same level.

"What ain't you telling us, boy?" Bobby asked.

Dean chewed the inside of his cheek and let out a breath, "She made me promise I wouldn't say anything."

Sam frowned, "Okay, Dean. You're starting to really freak me out. What the hell happened in there?"

"Sammy," he swallowed hard, having to take a breath so he wouldn't accidentally let a tear slip down his face, "They took me into the shed with her, I was knocked out. But when I came too," he swallowed again, the words tightening in his throat almost like he was choking on them, "Her clothes were thrown on the ground and the disgusting bastard was on top of our baby sister."

Bobby's jaw dropped and Sam was immediately on his feet, pacing the living room with his hands on top of his head like he thought he might float away otherwise.

"Jesus Christ," Sam breathed, "He uh-he," Sam shook his head, trying to get the image out of his head, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"She was humiliated, she didn't want you feeling sorry for her," Dean said, getting to his feet.

"Uh, our sister gets raped by a vampire while you just sit by and watch, I think I have the right to know. Why the hell didn't you help her?" he growled, roughly pushing his brother.

Bobby frowned, "Sam, calm down. You don't want to wake her up and have her hear this, do you?"

Dean sighed, "He didn't rape her Sam. He was going to. He would have if I hadn't gotten lose," he shook his head, a look of pure exhaustion on his face, "You really think I was just gonna sit there and do nothing?"

Sam let out a sigh of relief, "Well, you made it sound like it was. What the hell happened?"

"Like I said, he was going to. He was close, if it had taken me much longer to get free she would have been his," Dean explained, running a hand though his short hair, "She's pretty messed up about it."

Bobby nodded, "I would be too if a vampire violated me."

Dean sighed and shook his head, "I just, I need to get out of here," he looked at Bobby, "Can you take care of her?" he asked, "I just, like I said I'm having a hard time even looking at her."

"She's gonna be pissed if she wakes up and you boys ain't here," Bobby explained.

"Yeah, Dean I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam agreed.

"Fine, stay here, but I've gotta get my mind on something else. I can't just sit around here and it's not like she's gonna be hunting with us anytime soon if ever," he looked his brother in the eyes, "So you can stay here and play doctor or you can come with me and kill something evil."

Sam hesitated only briefly, "We should at least stay the night and say bye in the morning," he reasoned.

Dean shook his head, "You know she's not gonna just wish us a happy trip and let us go."

"Okay," Sam sighed and nodded, "Fine, let's go."

Bobby frowned, "You've gotta be kidding me," he barked, "You're gonna let me deal with the fall out with you sister? She's gonna tear me a new one. What the hell did I do to deserve that?"

Dean looked at Bobby, "Hey, get out those boxes of her mom's old stuff. It'll be something to keep her distracted for a while."

The old drunk shook his head, "You boys be safe and call sometime. Em isn't with you, so I don't have anyone to let me know you're alive."

"Sure Bobby," Sam sighed as he picked up his stuff and headed for the door, followed closely by Dean.

Bobby waited for the sounds of the Impala to fade completely away before he made his way into his room and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	9. Chapter Eight

Imogen slept hard and woke up late the next morning. In fact it was nearly noon when she finally got out of bed and limped, using the walls as support, into the bathroom. She emptied her nearly overflowing bladder and awkwardly made her way down the stairs. She found her crutches where she had left them in the living room the night before and thought it a bit strange she hadn't come across any other humans yet.

"Dean?" she called out, "Sam, Bobby?" no response so she limped into the kitchen and out onto the back porch where she finally saw Bobby walking up with a large box.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," he smiled, walking passed her into the house.

Imogen limped in after him, "Morning," she responded, a little confused.

"I was startin' to think you were gonna sleep all day," he set the box on the table next to several other boxes.

"Hey, Bobby," she looked at him, "What's going on?"

Bobby shook his head, "Nothing. Dean just told me you wanted to take a look at your mom's old junk and since you're gonna be outta commission for a while thought it might be a good time to pull it out of storage."

Imogen nodded a little suspiciously, "Okay," she paused, "Where is Dean, by the way? I had something I needed to talk to him about."

Bobby frowned, moving one of the boxes slightly, "You'll have to call him," Bobby said, not looking directly at her, "He and Sam caught a case and took off real early this morning."

Slowly the young girl blinked, "What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Something about a possible poltergeist in Michigan. They didn't want to wake you or they woulda said bye."

She shook her head, "They just ditched me?"

"I don't think it was like that," the man paused, "I mean, it's not like you're really in any condition to be hunting. I get bored here, so I was happy to have the company."

Imogen's lips tightened and it took everything in her not to put her fist through a wall, "Looks like I'm going after them," she barked, turning and trying to hobble up the stairs on her broken leg.

"Em," Bobby went after her, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her, "Don't be ridiculous. You ain't going anywhere until that leg heals."

"What is with you guys thinking you can all tell me what to do?" she yelled.

Bobby shook his head and sighed, "You know, kid. You wouldn't be in this position if you had just stopped and listened to someone else, you get that right."

"Oh go to hell!" the girl yelled as she hobbled back up the stairs.

"Yeah, Dean didn't like it too much, doubt I would either," he yelled right back at her.

Imogen was breathing heavily when she reached the top of the stairs but she still managed to get inside her designated room and slam the door. She threw herself down on the bed and screamed into the pillow. It didn't really help, but eventually she stopped and calmed down.

The girl waited for several hours until she heard Bobby go into his own room before she left hers and walked downstairs and sat at the table that still had the boxes of things she had been told belonged to her mother. She sat down and started shifting through the boxes. There was probably ten good sized boxes so she made a pot of coffee, knowing she would be up all night.

Several of the boxes just had photo albums stuffed full of pictures. Imogen had only seen one picture of her mom in her entire life and it hadn't been a good picture. It was a picture of her mom in a hospital bed holding a new born Imogen with their dad right beside her. Now she really saw her mother. She was tall and leggy and Dean was right she was drop dead gorgeous. What Imogen didn't realize at that moment was she looked almost exactly like her mother.

The girl didn't realize when the sun came up and the old man made his way downstairs. He noticed Imogen sitting at the table and walked over to start a pot of coffee before realizing there was already some in there, "Is this fresh?" he asked, pouring some into a cup and tasting it, making a face, "Nope," he grimaced pouring it down the sink and starting a new pot, "How long you been up?"

"Since you went to bed," she yawned, still studying the photos as closely as she could.

Bobby scoffed, "Wow, you must be wrecked," he paused looking at how empty his coffee can was, "How the hell many pots did you drink?"

"Four or five," she said, "Could really go for another."

"Or some sleep," Bobby suggested, "C'mon kid, no point in killing yourself. You'll heal faster if you rest."

Imogen picked up a piece of paper and read it over again, "I found my birth certificate," she said, turning to face Bobby.

"Oh yeah?" he asked.

She nodded, "Did you know my middle name was Tituba?" she paused, "Or that my last name isn't actually Winchester. It's Remington." she looked at him, "Because I sure the hell didn't know. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Bobby shrugged, "Kid, I had no idea. Your brother's probably didn't either and they just assumed you were a Winchester well because you are. Legal doesn't matter to them."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, I know. It just would have been nice to know all of this a long time ago."

Bobby poured himself a cup of the fresh brewed coffee and some for Imogen too as he sat next to her, "Tituba, huh?"

Imogen took a sip of her coffee as she nodded, "My mom must have been obsessed with the Salem Witch Trials or something."

A laugh escaped the old man, "Nah, I think it was John. He once confessed to me he had a secret witch fetish."

The girl almost spit her coffee on the table, "You're kidding?"

Bobby shook his head, "Nope, wish I was though. That's something I wish I could forget."

Imogen smiled and leaned back, holding up a picture of her mother, "Man, she was beautiful."

Bobby looked over at the picture, "Yeah, she was," he paused, "You know you look like her, right?"

She scoffed, "Please, I would be lucky to even look remotely like her."

"Well, then today's you're lucky day, kid. Because you look just like her."

A small smile crept across Imogen's lips as she looked once again at the picture, "Thanks Bobby."

Bobby nodded, "Anytime, kiddo."

Imogen spent several more hours poring over the books and papers and files and later that night when Bobby walked in the room she was face down, snoring, in a small puddle of drool. Bobby gently shook her shoulder to wake her up.

"Come on, kid. You need to get some rest."

Imogen wanted to argue that she was fine, but she was given a look that let her know Bobby meant business. So she went to her room and passed out immediately. She was completely wrecked.

Imogen spent the next six weeks completely obsessed with those boxes. She would wake up in the mornings and go straight down stairs and dig through them, studying every last word and picture on every single page. She wanted to find out any and everything that she could about her mother, and this was her only way. She didn't leave the house, she hardly showered, and most days she forgot to eat unless Bobby was shoving something down her throat.

The girl lost a lot of weight, and she didn't weigh that much to begin with so she was really just skin and bones. It scared Bobby, which wasn't exactly an easy thing to do. He'd try to urge her to eat every day, but she just didn't. She was so obsessed with the boxes of her mom's stuff that's all that she could focus on.

One night after Bobby had forced Imogen to go to bed after she'd spent nearly two days straight without sleep or food, he took all of the boxes away, renting a storage shed in the next town and dumping them there. He didn't want to get rid of them but Imogen had to stop or she was going to die. He slept awfully that night, knowing she would wake up early the next morning and not be happy.

He was right. She woke up and hobbled on her broken leg down stairs and Bobby was awoken to the sounds of the kitchen being torn apart. He hurried down the stairs with his shotgun in hand, not thinking he would need to use it but always prepared. He reached the kitchen and Imogen was going crazy.

"What the hell?" he asked her, "What are you doing?"

Her fiery gaze landed on him, "Where are they!" she screamed, limping over to him and grabbing him by the shit.

"I burned them!" he lied, "Em, I'm terrified for you. All you do is look through those. It's not healthy. You haven't even gone outside in a month!"

She pushed him away and started screaming, "You bastard!" she was grabbing fistfuls of her own hair, "That was mine! That was all I had left and you burned it!"

"I'm sorry," but he shook his head, "No, I'm not sorry. Girl you are scaring the hell outta me. You're killing yourself."

"GOOD!" she screamed at him, "I want to die! I want to get out of my own damn head!" she shook her head, "You're just as bad as them," she snarled, "I hate all of you."

"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked, setting his gun down and out of sight.

"Everything I love gets taken from me," she snapped, "My mom, my brothers, they all left me. Then you go and destroy everything I have of hers," she swallowed hard."

"Imogen," Bobby gently pushed her down into a chair, "Sam and Dean… They didn't want to hurt you. Hell, they were trying to protect you," he sat down across from her.

"Really?" she barked, "They weren't trying to hurt me? Then why haven't they called me or texted me, or hell even sent me a damn postcard since the day they left? Why haven't they even called to check on me? Obviously they don't care."

Bobby took a deep breath and tried to clear his head, "Kid, I've known your brothers a long time. They ain't the most considerate of people."

Imogen shook her head, "Sam at least used to check in every once in a while when they would dump me off here."

A low sigh escaped the old man, "They are having a hard time dealing with what happened to you."

"Well, that sucks," she barked, "So am I but I didn't run out on them."

"I know," Bobby sighed, "Kid, you've gotta take better care of yourself," he paused, "You don't eat like at all, you wouldn't be able to hunt like that. If you ever wanna get back into the game you've gotta be healthy."

Imogen shot him a look, "I don't want to hear it, Bobby."

"Well that's too damn bad," he scoffed, "Because this is my house and I'm gonna tell it like it is. You're gonna start taking better care of yourself if I have to hook you up to a damn feed bag."

A small smile pulled at the girl's lips.

"Ahhh, now that's nice. Haven't seen you smile in a long time."

Imogen shrugged.

Bobby shook his head, "Just like your brothers," he got to his feet and started cleaning up the mess that Imogen had made in the kitchen.

She copied him and once it was clean she hobbled back up the stairs and fell asleep on her bed. It wasn't just roses and daffodils from there on out, Imogen still wasn't happy and she still wasn't exactly complying with what Bobby wanted.

The next week the passed the only time that she would come out of her room was to go to the bathroom. She would eat but only when Bobby would bring something directly to her. Towards the end of the week Bobby was getting pretty tired of this behavior as well and he threw open her door to see her just laying on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Okay, Em. Time to get up. We have places to go."

"Places?" she asked curiously, "Where the hell do I need to go," she did sit up to meet his eyes, pulling her blanket around her waist.

"You're going grocery shopping with me," he told her, "I'm sick of you just moping around the house."

"I don't wanna go," she told him, "It's hard enough walking around here on my crutches and you want me to go walk around Walmart?"

Bobby nodded, "Yep, get up and get dressed. We are leaving in an hour."

"No," she said plainly, "Go without me."

Bobby shook his head, "You're going. We can get you one of those scooter things when we get there, but you are going," he looked at her sternly, "Get up now."

Imogen wanted to argue but his tone let her know that going would be a lot easier than trying to argue. Plus she needed a couple of things that she really didn't want to have to ask Bobby to pick up for her.

"Fine," she grumbled, "Can you get out so I can get dressed?"

Bobby nodded, "One hour and I want your ass downstairs and ready to go," he said as he turned and shut the door behind him.

Things got a little easier after that. Every week she and Bobby would go shopping, getting what they need, and then they would usually go out for lunch afterwards and it was pretty easy for the next six weeks. Imogen was looking healthier and seemingly happier. Then the morning came that it was time for her cast to come off. Imogen wanted Bobby to just saw it off, but he insisted on taking her to the doctor to get it done professionally.

"Ready to get your leg back?" he asked as they were in the car on the way to the doctor.

"Do you mean after four months am I ready to be able to walk from place to place without hobbling like an idiot?" she chuckled, "Absolutely."

Bobby nodded, "Glad to hear it," he smiled as he pulled into the doctor's office, "After this we are going out for ice cream. I'm getting Pistachio."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Of course you are. That's such an old man flavor."

"Hey, watch it kid or I'll make you walk home. You ain't crippled anymore after today," he said, parking the car and walking around to help her out, "Hey, Em. Have you thought about what you wanna do once you get your cast off?"

"I thought we were going out for ice cream?"

Bobby shook his head, "No, I mean like you don't wanna just sit around the house all day with me. Have you thought about maybe going to school or getting your GED or something?"

The thought hadn't even occurred to her, in fact for some reason she had been under the impression that the second her cast came off that her brothers would come swooping in and whisk her back off to go hunting, even though she hadn't heard a word from either one of them since they had ditched her, and to her knowledge neither had Bobby.

"Hey," she said, changing the subject, "Have you heard from Sam or Dean?"

Bobby hesitated ever so slightly, "Uh, well actually I missed a call from Sam the other day."

"What?" she barked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I missed the call so I didn't get to talk to him. He left a voicemail though. He and Dean are doing well, according to him anyways."

A sigh escaped the small girl, but she dropped the subject. Neither brother had reached out to her at all and as far as she knew they had no idea how she was doing either. It made her stomach churn. All she wanted to do was hunt and she was being shunned by her only blood family.

They headed inside of the building, Bobby signed them in. They had to fake some documents that stated Bobby was her legal guardian, but it wasn't an issue and no one seemed suspicious of them. The doctor did an X-ray on her leg and let them know it had healed up really nicely then they cut the cast off and Imogen nearly cried tears of joy as she was finally able to scratch the itch that hadn't stopped itching since she'd gotten plastered up.

Bobby helped her down off the table and slowly she walked around the room.

"How's it feel?" the doctor asked.

"Good as new!" she smiled, "I'm so glad to have my leg back."

Bobby nodded, "Good. Try not to break it again," he turned to the doctor, "So anything else we need?"

"The receptionist will check you out," he smiled.

Imogen looked at the doctor, "Do y'all have a bathroom?"

The doctor nodded, "Right down the hall and to the left," he pointed.

"I'll pay and meet you outside, Em," Bobby said, going in the other direction.

Slowly Imogen walked down the hallway. It was weird not having to hobble on those crutches. She almost didn't trust her own two feet, but she made it successfully down the hall without falling over. She found the bathroom and opened the door and was immediately greeted by the sight of a man urinating in the toilet.

"Oh shit," she exclaimed, immediately shutting the door, "Sorry!" she called and leaned up against the opposite wall. Normally she would have ran out of there but she REALLY needed to pee, so she was forced to wait.

A few moments later the man walked out, seeing her and smiling, "Hey," he chuckled, "Sorry, I forgot to lock the door."

"Oh," she blushed brightly, "It was my fault. But don't worry, I didn't see anything," she lied, as a matter of fact she had seen it all.

He laughed heartily, "Good to know."

She nodded and walked into the bathroom did her business and washed her hands before walking back out and seeing the man still standing there, so she smiled awkwardly at him and started to walk towards the exit.

"Hey," he said, gently grabbing her arm and turning her around, "I'm Nick."

"Oh," she briefly met his eyes, he was tall with dark brown eyes and jet black hair, athletic build and ridiculously handsome, "Hi Nick."

He smirked at her, "Do you have a name?"

"OH! I'm Imogen."

"That's a pretty name," he smiled charmingly at her, making her heart skip a beat, "Never heard that before."

"Me either," she paused, "I mean, I've never met another Imogen."

He let out another laugh before he spoke, "You know, I'm not generally this forward with women I meet, but since I've probably mentally scared you with the scene you walked in on in the bathroom I feel almost obligated to ask you to let me take you to dinner or out to a movie or something," he gave her that gorgeous smile again, "You know, to make up for that."

Imogen swallowed hard and met his eyes, "What?"

He chuckled softly, "Would you wanna go out on a date with me?"

"A date?" she asked.

"Yeah, I mean if you don't already have a boyfriend or whatever," he paused to run a hand through his neat hair, "What am I kidding, sexy little thing like you definitely has a boyfriend."

Imogen shook her head, "N-no. I don't have a boyfriend. Actually, I just got to town a couple of weeks ago."

"Ahh," he smiled, gently taking her hand, "So you're fresh meat."

She blushed again.

"Can I take you out?" he asked again, eagerly.

"S-sure," she stuttered, "That would be nice."

He nodded, looking very pleased with himself, "So can I get your number?"

"Oh of course," she gave him the number and he saved it in his phone.

He winked at her, "I'll call you soon," he said, turning on his heel and heading back to the office.

Imogen felt like she was going to float up in the sky with the amount of butterflies that were flapping around in her stomach as she walked outside and met Bobby at his car.

"You look pleased," Bobby stated, completely unaware of the situation.

"Oh, what?" she couldn't stop smiling, "I'm just really glad to have my leg back is all."


	10. Chapter Nine

All the way back to Bobby's, through getting ice cream and everything, Imogen was bouncing, beaming with energy. This was the absolutely happiest that Bobby had seen Imogen since her brother's had just up and left. He didn't want to question it because he didn't want her to start moping again, but he was also undoubtedly curious as to what had put her in such a delightful mood.

Once they got back to the house and Imogen was literally humming to herself Bobby decided to go ahead and ask her.

"So who hit you with the happy stick?" Bobby asked.

"Oh," she giggled, "Sorry."

Bobby shook his head, "No, I'm not complaining. Just wanted to know what I did to make you all smiley," he unlocked the front door to the house to let them both inside.

It almost slipped off of Imogen's tongue. She almost told Bobby about the really cute guy who she had accidentally walked in on in the bathroom. She almost told him that he had asked her out and she had given him her number. But she stopped herself. Would he be okay with her dating? Hell, would Sam and Dean be okay with it? She wasn't at all sure, so she decided to wait on it until she knew she was really going to be going out with this guy.

"I'm just really happy to have my leg back," she smiled at him brightly, "Are you hungry? I'm hungry," she floated into the house and into the kitchen, "How does chili sound?" she asked as she opened the fridge and started pulling out ingredients.

Bobby followed her into the kitchen, quite enjoying the new attitude the girl was having, "Sounds great," he smiled.

She turned to face him, "Sit, sit," she instructed, "Want a beer?"

Bobby nodded as he sat down, "Absolutely."

Imogen grabbed one from the fridge, popped the top off of it, and passed it to him, "Relax," she told him, "I wanna thank you for putting up with my moody bullshit the last few weeks."

"Ah, kid. You don't have to do that."

"I know I don't," she said, putting the chili on to cook, "But I want to. And I'm going to. So if you need anything just let me know, okay?"

Bobby nodded, "All right, hun," he slowly stood up, "Well if you don't mind I'm gonna go watch the uh…. Game."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Go watch your Tori and Dean. I'll pretend like I can't hear it."

Bobby let out a short chuckle and gently tousled the girl's hair, "That's why I keep you around."

She went back to her work preparing the chili and once she had it all simmering she saw her phone light up with a call from an unknown number. Her heart skipped a beat and she hesitated only slightly before she answered it.

"Hello?" she said into the device.

"Hey, is this Imogen?"

It was him, "Oh hey. Yeah, this is her."

"Hey, it was really cool meeting you today. Even if it was a little weird."

"Oh no, it wasn't weird. I liked meeting you too," she stammered awkwardly.

"So, I wanted to see if you were still down to hang out sometime? I dunno, I know we only met a couple hours ago but I really can't quit thinking about you… And I swear that's not some cheap pick up line or whatever, I seriously can't."

The young girl's cheeks were bright red, "Yes, yes I would love to hang out."

"That's great!" the guy sounded extremely relieved, "I was afraid you had time to reconsider and were gonna turn me down," he paused, "Or that you had possibly given me a fake number."

"Nope," she smiled, "I'm really glad that you called."

"I'd be outta my damn mind if I didn't call you," he hesitated, "So what's your schedule? Do you have school or work or whatever?"

"Nope," she paused, "I'm pretty much free whenever."

"Okay, cool. So how about tomorrow night? I would say tonight but I've got to work."

"Tomorrow sounds great," she couldn't keep the smile off of her lips, "I'm new to town, so I don't really know what's around."

"That's fine, I have a place in mind. It'll blow your mind. So can I pick you up around nine?"

"Sure," she gave him the address without thinking, "Uh, what should I wear?"

"Casual, something light would be best. It's gonna be pretty hot outside," he told her, "Good walking shoes."

"Got it," she smiled, "I can't wait."

"Me either. Talk to you soon."

Imogen hung up the phone and went back to cooking the food. She and Bobby had a really chill evening. Imogen even convinced him to let her have a beer with him. They played a couple of rounds of cards before Bobby went upstairs and passed out. Imogen stayed downstairs and cleaned up the kitchen and living room before she went upstairs and locked her door.

She had managed to keep one of her mom's boxes, one that had just been full of clothes so it slipped Bobby's mind to take it. She dumped the clothes out on her bed and sifted through them. She needed to find something to wear on this date. All she owned were jeans, t-shits, and flannels. Not exactly something you want to wear on a date.

However she and her mom were roughly the same size and her mom had quite the fashion sense. Finally she found a cute tank top that was cut just low enough to show a little bit of cleavage but not too revealing and a pair of semi-short jean shorts. She pulled the outfit on and looked in the mirror. She actually looked like a woman and she was damn impressed.

She changed back out of it and into her pajamas and lay down on the bed. It was nearly three in the morning before she fell asleep and she woke just passed noon. That wasn't anything new though, she had always been a night owl. She took a shower and threw on some clothes before heading downstairs and seeing Bobby pouring over a case file.

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, wandering into the study.

Slowly he looked up at her and then back down, "Possibly some ghouls down in Alabama," he said, "Need to call Garth, he's down in that area I think," Bobby yawned and took a drink from the mug that was sitting on his desk.

Once he set it down Imogen picked it up and sniffed it, making a face and setting it back down, "Ah Bobby. Come on, it's barely noon and your coffee is already Irish?"

Bobby grunted something that Imogen didn't quite catch.

"How long you been up?" she asked.

"Since five," he muttered.

"Maybe you should get some sleep."

Bobby slapped his hand on the table, "Hey, I don't need to be micromanaged kid. Why don't you run along and play or something?"

Imogen jumped and took a step back, Bobby obviously didn't want any company and she understood that but it still hurt her feelings a bit, "Sorry," she said as she turned and headed from the room.

She heated herself up a bowl of chili and spooned that in her mouth before washing the dishes and heading out back where she spent an hour or so just wandering the salvage yard aimlessly. There really wasn't much else to do. Briefly her mind wandered to her brothers. What were they doing? Were they okay? She still hadn't heard anything from either of them. This was the longest she had gone without talking to them. It bugged her but she decided to push it to the back of her mind, today was going to be a good day. She wasn't going to let Sam and Dean's absence ruin that.

She wandered back into the house a while later and Bobby was still staring down the case file, making calls, and doing research. She poked her head in the study about an hour before her date, "Hey, Bobby," she frowned, "Do you want me to get you anything?"

Once again Bobby looked up, "What? No," he yawned, "I'm about to hit the hay," he told her as he got up, "You okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "I'm great. Good, you need sleep."

Bobby nodded and walked passed her, almost zombie like up the stairs. When she walked by his door ten minutes later she heard very loud snoring. She was secretly glad he went to bed, she wasn't sure how she could get out of the house without him asking where she was going.

She dressed in the outfit she had picked out the night before, along with her black and white high-top Converse and made it out of the house as quietly as possible. She walked to the edge of the property and right as nine rolled around so did Nick. He pulled up in a newer model Mustang and Imogen climbed in the front seat.

"Hey," she smiled at him as he drove down the road.

"Hey," he smiled back, "Good to see ya."

"You too," she laughed nervously, "I was half expecting you to cancel on me."

He shook his head, "Please, no one would cancel on someone as beautiful as you."

Imogen shrugged, "I wouldn't know," she admitted, "I've never actually been on a date before."

"Really?" Nick said, sounding very surprised.

"Yeah, well I moved around a lot so I never got to know anyone well enough."

"Well, I'm honored to be your first date," he told her, "Mind if I ask how old you are? I'm twenty-two."

Imogen bit her lip, she hadn't even realized he was so much older than her, "I'm seventeen," she lied.

"Wow, seventeen. You look much older than seventeen."

"Sorry," she frowned, "Is that like a deal breaker?"

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good with it. Now, if you were like fifteen that would be a deal breaker."

She nodded, feeling a little bit guilty about the lie, but not wanting to ruin her chance at this date, "So are you from around here?"

"No, not originally. I moved out here after high school to go to college and when college didn't exactly work out I found a job and just stayed. I love it here."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, it's really nice."

"So you said you moved a lot… Can I ask why?"

She sighed, trying to figure out how to be as vague as possible without seeming suspicious, "Well, my brothers raised me and they were always travelling for work."

"Oh?" he asked, turning onto the highway, "What did they do?"

"Pest control," she chuckled, "You wouldn't believe the stuff we found in people's basements."

"So you guys settled here?"

She shook her head, "No, I broke the hell outta my leg and they dumped me here on my uncle a couple months ago since I couldn't help. Haven't seen or heard from them since."

Nick scoffed and shook his head as he pulled into a large parking lot, "What dicks," then he paused, "Sorry, they're you're brothers… Just sounds kinda like a dickish thing to do."

She shrugged, "I've accepted it," she looked around the parking lot and then noticed that they were at a carnival. There was a Ferris wheel, a small rollercoaster, lots of food booths. She'd seen these places on TV all the time but never actually been to one, "Holy hell," she smiled, "I've always wanted to go to one of these."

Nick smiled a little as he got out and walked over to her side of the car to open the door and help her out, not letting go of her hand as he shut her door, "Well, looks like tonight is a night of firsts for you, huh?"

Imogen smiled and nodded, "Looks like it."

The two strolled hand in hand to the ticket booth where Nick bought them a ridiculous amount of tickets for the evening and they walked around the park together.

"What do you wanna do first?" he asked.

She paused and looked around before spotting a haunted house, "What about that?"

"What? You're not afraid?"

Imogen laughed loudly, if only she could tell him about the thousands of times she had dug up a corpse and burned the bones, but instead she just shook her head, "Fake monsters don't scare me."

He smiled and they walked over together, "All right, but if you get scared don't say I didn't warn ya," he let go of her hand only briefly to hand over the correct amount of tickets to the ticket taker then grabbed her hand as they walked inside the dimly lit building, "Don't let go of my hand," he said in her ear, "You might not be scared, but I totally am."

Imogen knew he was joking but she humored him always, "Yes sir."

The 'haunted' house was short and ridiculously lame. People with white sheets draped over them jumped out to try and scare them and fake skeletons fell from the ceilings as fog filled the room and they flashed lights at them. As Imogen and Nick were walking out they were both cackling with laughter about how bad the attraction really had been.

"That was literally the worst piece of shit ever," Nick smiled, pulling her gently away from the building.

"You're tellin' me," she chuckled, "I've never been in one before and even I know that was bad."

Nick smiled and took her other hand, "You know, you're way to pretty to have no life experience."

"I have life experience," she argued, almost defensively, "Just not the same ones that you have."

"Like what? Pest control?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah," she smiled a little, "Pest control."

"Come on," he gently pulled her, "Let's get something to eat. What are you in the mood for? Pizza? Nachos? Hot dogs," he paused, "You have had those foods, right?" he teased.

With a roll of her eyes Imogen walked with him, "I lived on the road, getting most of my meals from 7/11. Yeah, I think I've had those."

"Okay, okay I'll stop. So what do you want?"

"Nachos sound great."

Nick nodded and let go of her hand, "I'll get the food. You find us a table?"

Imogen nodded and scouted the grounds, eventually finding a decently clean table and sitting down. The lines were long so it took Nick about ten minutes to get back with the food, but he didn't disappoint. He brought back the most intensely heavy nachos Imogen had ever laid eyes on and a humongous thing of cotton candy, setting it down on the table and sitting right across from her.

"I thought you might have never had cotton candy since you've never been to the fair, Cotton candy is something that no one should die without trying."

Once again the girl rolled her eyes, "I've had cotton candy," she chuckled as she picked up a nacho and stuffed it in her mouth, "Oh my god this is disgusting," she exclaimed as she picked up another and did the same.

He nodded, "Carnival nachos are horrid. But something about them won't let you stop until they are gone or you accidentally drop them in the dirt," he explained as he grabbed some to shove in his mouth.

"So, can I ask why your brothers raised you? Why not your mom or dad?"

Imogen sighed as she ate more of the nachos, "Well, my dad travelled with my brothers for work. It's kinda a family business and they didn't know about me at the time, until after our dad was already dead. We have different moms. Anyways, my mom died and they kinda took me in. We were like the only family we had."

Nick nodded slowly, "I'm sorry to hear that," he ran a hand through his hair, "My mom died when I was little too, and my dad was a druggie so I kinda raised myself," he confessed, "I was glad as hell when I graduated and got the hell away from him."

Imogen nodded slowly, "I bet."

They finished off the nachos and both got back up to walk around. They played a couple of the carnival games but neither of them were very good and they didn't win anything.

Nick checked the time, "We have time for like two things before they kick us out," he said, "Wanna do the rollercoaster and the Ferris wheel?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, I've never done either."

He grabbed her hand and the two ran to the roller coaster.

"So am I actually gonna get to see you scared on this?" he asked as they were strapped in to the cart.

"Maybe," she smiled as he once again took her hand, "It looks like it could fall apart at any minute."

"Oh it could," he smiled brightly, "That's part of the fun."

Then the cart jerked forward as they went up the first incline. Imogen's hand did actually tighten on Nick's as they went down at high speed. Sure this was nothing compared to knifing a shapeshifter, but it was a whole new kind of adrenaline.

When it was over Imogen actually felt like she was still moving, but she was really glad to get out. Her legs were numb and for a minute she thought she wasn't going to be able to walk, but Nick was there to help her.

"Fun?" he asked as they climbed off of the platform and walked away from the ride.

"I dunno if I'd call that fun," she chuckled a little, "It was certainly interesting."

"Good!" he smirked, "I need to leave my mark on you good or bad. Now come on, they are closing soon and we are getting on that Ferris wheel if it kills us," he said, gripping her hand as they both sprinted across the park.

They had perfect timing, they got to the Ferris wheel just in time for the last night. Nick handed over the last of their tickets and got into one of the carts together. Slowly it rose and fell and the two admired the city scape.

"Wow," Imogen sighed, leaning up against her date, "This is beautiful."

Nick nodded, "Yeah, but nowhere near as beautiful as you."

Imogen smiled and intertwined her fingers with his, "I've had a really great time with you, Nick."

Nick nodded, "Yeah, I have too. This is the best date I've been on in as long as I can remember. You're amazing."

"Thank you," she said, meeting his eye, "Thank you for the best first date ever."

"Hey," he asked as the wheel was at the top for the third time, "Can I kiss you?"

Imogen gently bit her lip, "I uh, I don't know how."

He shrugged, "First times all around tonight?"

Slowly she nodded and in an instant the two were locking lips. It felt good, so much better than when the vampire had stuck his tongue down her throat, but she wasn't thinking about that right now. As a matter of fact, all she was thinking about was the beautiful boy with his face pressed against her own.

Once the wheel made it to the bottom for the final time and the two got off they headed back to Nick's Mustang and he drove her back to Bobby's, parking in front of the house and getting out of the car. Imogen got out too and looked at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he took her hand.

"Walking you to the door," he explained, "It's the gentlemanly thing to do."

"Oh," she couldn't help but the blush a little and was glad it was dark so that he wouldn't see.

They got to the door, which was illuminated by Bobby's porch light, and Imogen turned to face the man.

"Nick, I seriously had the most amazing time."

Nick nodded, "So did I. Can I see you again?"

Imogen nodded, "I would love that."

"Soon?" he asked, "Can I call you?"

"I'd be pissed if you didn't."

And then the two were kissing again. Nick had gently pushed Imogen up against the wall and his arms were wrapped around her while her hands were running up through his hair. Imogen was so absorbed in the man that she didn't hear the front door open.

Bobby loudly cleared his throat which is what got Imogen's attention and the look of horror that crossed her face is what got Nick's. He followed her gaze to the unhappy looking man standing in the door.

"Someone's got some explaining to do," Bobby announced, looking at the both of them.

"I-I'm Nick," Nick stuttered out.

"Yeah, Bobby. This is my friend Nick. Nick this is my uncle Bobby."

Nick extended his hand for a hand shake but Bobby ignored him, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Bobby shook his head, "Kid, I think you best be going," he looked at Imogen, "Inside, now."

Nick and Imogen exchanged nervous glances.

"Yes sir," Nick agreed before looking to Imogen once more, "I'll call you, okay?"

Imogen nodded and slowly trudged inside of the house, Bobby shutting the door behind them.


	11. Chapter Ten

"Bobby," Imogen breathed, standing against the wall, "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I was just nervous and worried and I didn't know if he was actually going to show up or if it was gonna be a dud or what was gonna happen. I was gonna tell you, I swear. I just wanted to make sure I had something to tell you before I said anything."

Bobby was pacing the living room back and forth, "Kid, you can't do this."

Imogen thought her heart was breaking into a million piece, "I can see him?" she frowned,"Why not? He's nice and sweet and he likes me. He's such a good guy, Bobby… Please."

Bobby shook his head, "No, I mean you can't sneak around. I'm responsible for you and I need to know what you're doing and who you're with. If you get into trouble I'm the one who's gonna be cleaning up your mess."

"I didn't get into any trouble! I didn't do anything wrong. I just went to the carnival with Nick," she argued, "Hell, I've never even been to a carnival before."

A low sigh escaped Bobby, "Look, I just need to know what you're doing and who you're doing it with," he paused, "When the hell did you even meet this boy?"

"Yesterday," she told him, "At the doctor."

Bobby chuckled a little, "Now it makes sense."

"What?" she asked.

"You were in a good mood yesterday, for once."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "So I can still see him?" she asked, "I mean, he's the only friend I have besides you."

Bobby groaned, "Kinda seems like you're gonna do it even if I say no," he shrugged, "Dating is normal for a girl your age, so I don't see why not," he looked at her, "Just be smart, okay?"

Imogen nodded, throwing her arms around him, "Thank you Bobby, thank you so much," she squealed.

Bobby gently patted her back, "Yeah, yeah. Now I wanna meet this boy officially before you go anywhere else with him, understand?"

Imogen nodded, "Completely fair, I'll talk to him about it."

"All right," he smiled a little, "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah," she laughed softly, "It was amazing… He's amazing."

Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I kinda got that feeling when I saw the two of you on the porch together."

Imogen blushed, "I'm gonna go up to bed," she told him, "I'm exhausted."

"I bet," he laughed softly, "Sleep well, kiddo."

Over the next few weeks Imogen and Nick became practically inseparable. When they weren't physically together they were on the phone or texting or video chatting. Whatever they were doing you could pretty much guarantee that they were in communication. The two always wanted to be around one another.

Usually Nick would come over and they would sped the evenings watching movies together and occasionally Bobby would join in or they would all play poker together. Bobby always won, luckily they didn't play for real money.

Bobby and Nick got along well, their personalities meshed and they could make each other laugh. Though, Bobby really would have liked anyone who could make Imogen smile and bring her out of her funk. Bobby only had one rule about Nick at the house, they had to stay downstairs. Nick wasn't allowed upstairs under any circumstances.

That was okay, they would cuddle together on the couch and usually fell asleep that way until Bobby would come downstairs and send Nick home. The next day would be the same so long as Nick wasn't working. They would also go out together and then Bobby couldn't keep an eye on them, but he trusted Imogen and knew she could take care of herself.

The more time that Imogen spent with Nick the more comfortable she got with him. They had migrated into official boyfriend/ girlfriend status. Imogen had never had a boyfriend, much less an actual friend that wasn't Bobby, her brothers, or another hunter, so it was new territory that she was really enjoying exploring.

Imogen and Nick had been dating consistently for about three months when Bobby decided he needed to have a little talk with Imogen. She was getting ready to go out with him when Bobby came into her room and sat down on her bed, feeling rather awkward.

"Hey, Em. Can I talk to you a minute?" he asked nervously scratching his beard.

Imogen nodded, running a brush through her hair and sitting down across from him, "What's up?"

"Well," he sighed, "I wanted to talk to you about Nick."

"He's the best, isn't he?" Imogen smiled, Nick was her favorite subject to talk to, "He's making me dinner tonight."

Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I know," he paused, "You told me you were gonna be at his apartment tonight."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, I've never been there before. He said his roommates are slobs and he doesn't want me around them, but they are out of town this weekend."

"Yeah, I'm a little worried about that, to be completely honest."

"What?" Imogen asked, "Why? You like Nick."

"Yeah, I do like Nick. I think he's a really good guy, but that's just it… He's a guy."

Slowly Imogen nodded, not really knowing where Bobby was going with this, "I'm aware… What's the problem?"

"Well," Bobby took a deep breath, "I know that Nick's a little older than you," he said, though he thought Nick was eighteen, not twenty-two, Imogen had lied to him about that, "I'm just concerned that he might want to do some older guy things."

Imogen's face fell, "Bobby, ew," she made a face, "We had this talk a year ago. Please don't make me relive it."

"Sorry, I just want you to be aware," he fidgeted uncomfortably, "Just want you to be prepared…. If he tries anything that you're uncomfortable with…."

A loud groan escaped Imogen, "Bobby, c'mon…. You know Nick."

"No, you know Nick. I just know the polite guy who eats my food several times a week," he paused, "I do know young men, I was a young man, and I know that the number one thing that's on their mind is sex… And I just don't want you to do something that you're ready for," he couldn't look at her, "And in the very distant future when you are ready for it I want you to be adequately prepared."

Imogen's face was buried in her hands, "I get it, use a condom. Bobby, I know all of this. Please, please stop. I'm begging."

"Fine," he sighed, "Just promise me you won't let anyone pressure you into something you're not comfortable with."

"Okay!" she barked exasperated, "I won't do anything I'm not ready for. Now would you please leave me alone so I can get dressed? He'll be here any minute."

Bobby nodded, "Okay, sorry," he sighed, heading for the door, "Have a good time. Be home by midnight."

"How about two?" she countered.

"Twelve: thirty."

"One: forty-five?"

"Twelve: forty-five and that's my final offer."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Fine, fine. Now go," she watched Bobby leave and finally let herself blush, for everything he had just told her not to do she had planned for this evening.

She heard Nick's knock at the front door a few minutes later but wasn't quite ready and knew that Bobby would get the door. She finished brushing her teeth and traipsed down the stairs.

"Hey baby," he smiled, pulling her into his arms and quickly kissing her, "You look amazing."

Bobby groaned, "Okay, enough with the PDA. You gonna take care of my girl?" he asked.

Nick nodded, "Yes sir, you know I will."

"Good," Bobby grumbled, "Because if you don't I'll kill ya'," he threatened, sitting down on the couch, pulling his shotgun into his lap and cleaning it off with a cloth, "I'll be here when you get back."

Nick nodded, taking Imogen's hand, "Yes sir, I'll get her home safe."

Both Imogen and Nick breathed a sigh of relief when they made it to the car and drove away.

"He seemed a little on edge tonight," Nick stated, "Everything okay? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, he just gets in a mood sometimes," she explained, "He's moodier than a pregnant woman."

Nick laughed and a short while later they pulled into his apartment and they walked in together, "You know, it's nice to have my roommates out, but damn I'm glad you're here."

Imogen nodded as he shut the door behind them, "Yeah, and it'll be nice to hang out where Bobby isn't breathing down our neck."

"Ah come on, he doesn't do that."

"Yeah, okay maybe not, but still. For the first time ever we are actually alone."

Nick nodded and walked over to the fridge, "Do you want some wine?"

"Yes please," she smiled, looking around the room, "Nice place you got."

Nick poured them both a glass and walked back into the living room, handing it to her, "Yeah, I spent all day cleaning it up to impress you."

"Well, it worked," she said, taking a sip from the glass.

"Good," he kissed her softly, "So I have a confession to make."

"Oh?" she asked a little nervously, "You're not like actually married with four kids or anything are you?"

He chuckled and shook his head, "No, nothing like that. I just I don't actually know how to cook. I was gonna try to make you an amazing meal with candles and shit and I just couldn't…. So I was thinking we could order pizza?" he looked like he felt incredibly guilty.

Imogen let out a loud laugh, nearly spilling her wine, "Oh thank god. I was worried you were gonna make something super fancy and I was gonna have to pretend like it didn't disgust me."

And then the two were kissing, "You know," Nick mumbled against her lips, "This is why I love you."

Imogen slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes, "You love me?" she asked.

Nick nodded, "Yes ma'am," he took a sip of his wine, "I've never felt like I do about you for any other woman. I'm pretty sure this is love."

"Oh," she smiled a little, "I love you too, Nick," and she kissed him again before breaking away, "So since we aren't doing fancy can I kick off my shoes?"

Nick laughed and nodded, "Get comfortable. What movie do you wanna watch?" he asked, "I've got a ton."

"Something funny," she told him as she dropped her shoes by the front door and plopped down on the couch, downing the last bit of wine she had in her glass and watching Nick put the movie in the DVD player.

"Have you seen Blended? It's got Adam Sandler in it. I love Adam Sandler."

Imogen shook her head, "No, I haven't see that one," she smiled, "Me and my oldest brother, Dean… We used to always go and watch Sandler movies in theaters or whenever we could get them on pay-per-view."

Nick sat down next to Imogen, putting an arm around her as the movie started up, "Heard anything from him or Sam?" he asked.

Imogen shook her head, "Nope, not a damn thing. Nothing in seven months."

Nick sighed and gently rubbed her shoulder, "I'm sorry baby. I know you miss them."

She nodded, "I do, I'm pissed as hell at them but I'd just like to know they are okay," she turned to kiss him, "I'm so glad they ditched me here though."

"Oh yeah?" Nick smirked a little.

"If they hadn't I never would have met you."

He kissed her deeply, "That's very true."

Imogen wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him, slowly making her way into his lap and gently grinding against him, making him groan a little as he kissed her back, letting his hands rest on her hips.

Imogen kissed him deeper, letting her hands trail down his chest and start to unbutton his collared shirt and let her hand slip inside to rub his chest as she grinded against him a little harder. She was pleased when she could feel him twitching beneath her and he grabbed her tighter, kissing her harder.

She paused only briefly to pull her shirt over her head and toss it aside before she went back to kissing him, pressing her chest up against his. But he gently pulled back, not taking his hands off her sides.

"Em," he swallowed hard, "What are you doing?"

She smiled a little and went back to kissing him, "What does it look like?" she whispered in his ear.

He groaned loudly but gently backed away again, "Em, stop."

She looked at him a little confused, "What? What's wrong?"

He sighed and gently moved her off his lap and handed her back her shirt, "Baby, we can't."

"What?" she asked, covering herself with her shirt but not properly putting it back on, "What's wrong? Don't you want to?"

He sighed and took a deep breath, "No, of course I want to," he swallowed hard, "I really, really want to," he looked at her, "I just… We have to wait."

"Why?" she pleaded, "You said you love me, I love you too. Why should we wait?"

"Because… We need to wait until you're birthday, until you're eighteen that way neither of us get into trouble for it," he gently took her hand, "Your birthday is in what, two months. I think we can wait that long."

Slowly Imogen nodded. She still hadn't told him that she was only fifteen, and now she didn't feel like she could tell him, for fear of him hating her, "Okay," she breathed, "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Em, please don't be upset. I want to, I really do. Hell, I think about it all the time," he chuckled when she blushed, "You've never… You've never had sex, right?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, you've been my first for everything else, so I was hoping this too."

Nick kissed her again, "Then I wanna make it special."

"Have you?" she asked a little nervously.

He nodded, "Yeah, I have."

"Is it weird that I haven't?"

Nick shook his head, "Nope, in fact I'm honored to be your first," he kissed her.

"So on my birthday?" she asked.

Nick nodded, "Yep, if you still wanna do it then."

"And if you do," she smirked a little.

"Oh I can promise you that I will," he kissed her as he wrapped an arm around her, "Now, let's watch this movie, okay?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, okay," she snuggled up against him and the two watched the movie together.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Over the next couple of months things got really routine. Bobby and Imogen would spend the days doing research and manning the phones for other hunters when they needed it, and at night they would relax and several times a week Imogen would go out with Nick or they would all stay in. It worked, it was easy, and she was truly comfortable and happy with her life now.

Her birthday came and she was ridiculously excited. Bobby just brushed it off as her being excited that it was her birthday, but he didn't know the real reason behind it, and if it was up to Imogen he would never know.

"Happy birthday, kid," he smiled and pulled her into a hug when she came down the stairs that morning.

"Thanks Bobby," she hugged him back, "I didn't think you would remember."

Bobby laughed, "Really? With all the hints you were dropping to Nick all week you didn't think I would catch on?"

Imogen blushed darkly, wondering if he might have overheard something else, "Oops."

The old man just smiled, "Hey, come on out back I got something I wanna show you."

The girl followed right behind him into the backyard.

"So, I know this thing looks like complete junk but the guy I bought it from says it runs pretty well," he led her over to a tarp that was covering something, "I saw you eyeing something similar to it last time we were out and about."

Imogen looked at him, "Bobby," she paused, "You didn't have to buy me anything."

"Kid, I know I didn't. But hell, you been putting up with my crabby ass, working your ass off with the research and working the phones. You deserve a little something for yourself," he shrugged, "Besides, I had a little extra cash that was burning a hole in my pocket," he eyed her, "Now are you gonna open it or what?"

Slowly Imogen pulled the tarp off of it to reveal a beat up looking motor scooter and she couldn't stop smiling, "Bobby, thank you so much," and she threw her arms around him.

Gently he patted her back, "You deserve it. And now you don't have to get that boy to take you everywhere. You can take yourself."

"Thank you," she repeated, letting go of him.

"So you gonna take it for a spin or what?" he asked, picking up a bright pink helmet and putting it on her head.

"Damn right I am," she smiled as she grabbed the handle bars and straddled the bike, "Does it need a key?" she asked, looking over it to see how it worked.

"Uh yeah," he felt around in his pockets before finding the key and sticking it in the ignition, "Be careful," he warned as he watched the girl fly out of the driveway and down the street.

Imogen felt free as the wind blew through her hair. For such a little scooter damn the thing could haul ass. She spent a good while puttering around town on it before she decided to zip over to Nick's. She knew he would still be asleep, but he also had work early so she wouldn't feel too bad about waking him up.

She knocked on the door of his apartment and his roommate Don answered. Imogen had only met his roommate once and he wasn't the most clean cut fellow. The guy looked and smelled like he hadn't showered in a month but he let Imogen in.

"Nick's sleeping," Don yawned, "You can chill or whatever until he gets up," the man took a seat on the couch and pulled out a pre-rolled marijuana cigarette and lit it, taking a drag off of it before he offered it to Imogen, "Wanna hit?" he asked.

Imogen smiled but shook her head, "Nah, that's okay. My brother always warned me to never take a joint from a guy named Don," she teased as she headed into Nick's room. He was sprawled on his back in just his boxers and snoring lightly.

Slowly Imogen climbed into his bed with him, settling down next to him before gently kissing his neck.

Startled from his sleep Nick jumped and unintentionally head-butted Imogen as he was sitting up.

"Ow," she said, sitting up and rubbing her head.

Nick looked at her, it taking a couple of seconds to register who she was, "Oh, hey. Sorry," he yawned, covering his mouth, "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry," she frowned, thinking he was upset with her, "I should have asked first."

Nick chuckled softly and shook his head, "No, it's good. I'm glad to see you, you just scared me," he gently pulled her into his lap and the two kissed, "How did you get here anyways? I mean, I know Bobby likes me but I can't see him dropping you off."

"No, actually he bought me a moped for my birthday. I drove myself."

"Is that right?" he smiled, kissing her again, "That was nice of him. Now you can pick me up for dates."

Imogen smirked a little, "I'm sure that's what Bobby had in mind when he gave it to me."

Nick nodded and kissed her again, "God I love you, you know that?"

"I had a suspicion," she groaned against his lips, kissing him, "You know, it's my birthday."

Nick nodded, "You might have mentioned it a couple dozen times this week."

She blushed a little, "Yeah, Bobby mentioned that."

A small chuckle escaped Nick as he kissed her, "You're not the master of subtlety."

"I can't help it!" she exclaimed, "My brothers never did birthdays. This is literally the first birthday I've had something I knew I could look forward to," she paused, "You remember what you said we could finally do on my birthday, right?"

Nick nodded, "I haven't stopped thinking about it."

"Well?" she asked.

"Tonight," he whispered against her lips, "I have a plan and everything. Besides, you don't wanna get deflowered with my roommate listening in do you?"

Imogen made a face and shook her head, "No, I don't guess so."

Nick kissed her and slowly got up off the bed, "Okay then, I'm gonna get a shower and get ready for work. I'll pick you up tonight about seven, okay?"

Imogen nodded, "Yes sir," she got up to follow him out of the bedroom, "Hey," she grabbed his hand before he shut the bathroom door, "I love you."

He kissed her, "I love you too, crazy lady," he kissed her once more, "Now go home, you're getting me much too worked up."

"Good!" she teased.

"Not good, I gotta go to work," he shut the bathroom door.

Imogen waited until she heard the shower running before she walked back to the front door. Don was sitting, nearly passed out with a cigarette in his hand, "Hey! Don!" she loudly clapped her hands together and he sat bolt right up, "Try not to burn the place down, okay?"

Don slowly nodded and set his cigarette in the ash tray before laying down on the couch and completely passing out. Imogen just rolled her eyes and made sure to lock the door behind her as she hurried out to her moped and road it back to Bobby's.

She got back to Bobby's and was immediately greeted at the door by him, he looked a little frazzled. She took her helmet off and set it on one of the porch chairs, "Everything okay?" she asked.

Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I was just getting worried about you. You were gone an awful long time."

"Oh sorry," she sighed, "That thing is just way too much fun. I didn't want to get off."

Bobby gave her a look, "And…?"

She half smiled, "And I may have gone to see Nick."

Bobby chuckled and let her inside, "Girl you are hopeless."

"I know," she agreed, "But have you seen Nick? He's gorgeous!"

"I wouldn't know anything about that," Bobby shook his head, as they both took a seat on the couch, "So do you two have plans tonight?"

Imogen felt herself sweating a little. Could he tell what they had planned? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, "Yeah, he's picking me up about seven," she smiled through her slight panic, but Bobby didn't look suspicious.

"What are y'all going to do?"

She shrugged, "I dunno, he says it's a surprise."

Slowly Bobby nodded, "All right," he looked at her, "No curfew."

"What?" she asked, a little excited. Bobby was a stickler for the curfew and if Imogen was even five minutes late he threw a fit, "You're kidding."

Bobby shook his head, "No, you deserve it," he gave her a warning glance, "Just this once though, understand?"

Imogen nodded, "Yes sir."

Several hours later Imogen was coming down the stairs dressed in a dark purple skin tight, strapless dress that came down to right above her knee caps. She had managed to curl her hair with old beer cans and to top it off she was wearing her beat up old converse shoes.

"How do I look?" she asked Bobby.

Bobby looked absolutely bewildered, "Well, other than the shoes I'd say really beautiful."

Imogen smiled at him, "Shut up, these are the only shoes I own besides my boots."

"Where the hell did you even get that dress?" he asked, "I know your brothers didn't get you that."

She paused momentarily. She was a little worried he would be angry since he had tried to get rid of all her mother's thing but she sighed, "It was my mom's," she told him, "This box was in my room when you burned the rest of it."

"Oh," he nodded.

"Sorry I didn't tell you."

Bobby shook his head, "It's your stuff. You don't need to apologize."

Imogen nodded, "Okay," she sighed, "Do I look okay?"

Bobby nodded, "Nick ain't gonna know what hit him," he said and then the two of them heard the crunch of the gravel and familiar purr of the Mustang pulling into the driveway, "Sounds like he's here."

Imogen smiled and hustled back to the stairs. She and Bobby had a system. He always got the door when Nick was picking her up for a date, that way he could see her walk down the stairs and she could blow his mind. It was a good system, especially tonight. Bobby opened the door and Imogen started her descent.

Nick's reaction was unlike any he'd had before. He looked as if he was going to faint and his jaw was literally hanging open. Imogen shut it for him.

"You'll catch flies, baby," she smirked.

"Wow," he hadn't realized he wasn't breathing until then when he sucked in a breath, "You look fantastic."

Imogen blushed, "Thank you, Nick."

Bobby looked back and forth at the both of them, "Well, on that note I'm going to bed," he looked at Nick, "You better take care of her or-"

Nick cut him off, "Or you'll kill me," he finished his sentence, another common place, "You don't have anything to worry about."

"Good night, Bobby," Imogen smiled.

Bobby was heading for the stairs but called over his shoulder, "Happy birthday, kid. You two have a good time," he paused, "But not too good."

Imogen and Nick turned and headed out of the house. Nick helped her into the Mustang and the two were off.

"So are you gonna tell me where we're going?" Imogen asked.

"Nope," he said, "Just know that you're gonna love it."

"Hell, I'm with you so I doubt there's anything I wouldn't love."

A little while later Nick pulled off the road near a corn field and got out of the car, grabbing a large bag from the trunk, "Well, come on then," he told her, helping her out of the car.

"What?" she asked, looking a little bit confused.

"Come on, into the corn," he shifted the bag onto his shoulder and took her hand, pulling her inside, "It's a short walk and then there's a clearing."

"Like a crop circle?" she asked, trying to dodge the stalks of corn that were trying to slap her in the face.

He laughed, "Yeah, kind of like a crop circle," he agreed and when they did reach the clearing he sat down his bag and started digging inside of it. He pulled out a blanket and laid it down on the dirt before he brought out a couple of candle and set them on the ground.

Imogen couldn't erase the smile from her face, "You are such a goddamn nerd."

Nick briefly glanced at her, "Hey, shut up and enjoy being romanced."

"Yes sir," she smiled as he stood up.

He walked back over to the bag and pulled out a bottle of wine, pouring her a glass and taking a swig from the bottle.

Imogen laughed and took the glass from him, slowly sipping on it, "Such a gentleman."

Nick lit the candles and relaxed onto the blanket, "Come sit with me," he patted the space next to him and she leaned up against him, looking up at the stars.

"God it's beautiful out here," she said, drinking the rest of her wine and setting the glass down.

Nick nodded and gently kissed her, "Em," he sighed happily, "These last five months with you," he kissed her again, "The best five months of my life."

Imogen nodded, "Mine too. Literally the only people I knew at all before you were my brothers. Getting to know someone else, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Nick, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Good," he said, taking a drink from the bottle and handing it to her, "I love you so much, Imogen."

Imogen drank from the bottle, "I love you too, Nicolas."

He laughed softly, "I hate it when anyone calls me that. But not you, you're one in a damn million."

"Right back at'cha," she took another drink and passed it back to him.

"I'm so glad that you walked in on me taking a piss at the doctor's that day and that you weren't scared off by the sight of my gigantic dick."

Imogen lightly smacked his shoulder as she lay on her back, "Shut up. I told you I never saw it."

He rolled his eyes and lay down beside her, putting an arm around her, "Lies."

"Okay, maybe I did. But it's not like I was staring," she kissed him lightly, her head starting to swim from the half bottle of wine she had consumed.

Nick propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Imogen, letting his hand run up her bare leg, "You look so beautiful tonight."

"You look amazing, like always," She smiled and pulled him down for a kiss, "Now?" she asked softly, not wanting to seem too eager.

Slowly Nick nodded, "The moment we've been waiting for," he kissed her deeply.

Then the two were kissing and rolling around on the small blanket he had laid out for them. Both their hands were quick, hungrily grabbing at each other's clothes, impatiently pulling them off and tossing them aside. If it hadn't been for his much larger frame blocking her naked one from the wind she probably would have frozen.

After the fact Imogen and Nick lay side by side, covered only by the extra blanket he had remembered to pack. He pulled Imogen close to him, her head laying on his chest. Imogen kept her eyes closed. Her whole body felt numb and the alcohol she had consumed made her head fuzzy.

Nick softly kissed her head, "You okay?" he whispered.

It took a few moments for the words to get to her brain and Nick figured she had fallen asleep but eventually she nodded, "So okay," she whispered, lightly kissing his chest, "So happy."

He chuckled softly, pulling her naked body closer to his own, "Good," he smiled as he let himself drift off next to her.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Dean Winchester, alongside his brother Sam, pulled the Impala into Bobby's driveway an hour and a half after Imogen had left on her birthday date with Nick. It had been a fight to get Dean to agree to come back, but Sam had managed.

The last nine months without their sister hadn't exactly been easy, but they had both knew that she didn't need to hunt anymore, not after what had happened back at the vampires nest. However, agreeing not to contact her at all was a mistake, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

They hadn't really planned to ignore her existence, it just kind of happened. Neither of them had the guts to call her and have to deal with the fallout from their blatant abandonment. Occasionally one of them would get ahold of Bobby but he was always extremely vague on how she was doing. What they didn't know was that Bobby was glad they had left her behind, and he knew if he told them about how depressed she had been, the out bursts, and the eventual boyfriend that they would come rolling back to check up on thing. He knew that Imogen would convince her brothers to take her back on the road.

Bobby didn't want Imogen to leave. He liked having her around. She was smarter than the average hunter, especially for someone who had never had any formal education. She made connections in cases that even Bobby couldn't. She worked the phones like a champ, never missing a beat. And she could cook some of the best food that Bobby had eaten since his wife had passed. Bobby didn't even mind sharing her with that Nick kid. He didn't want her to leave. He was glad that the Winchester brothers had left her with him.

The old man had no idea that Sam and Dean were coming back on their sister's birthday. If he did he would have warned Imogen, but they hadn't called or texted to even let on that might be the case. So when Bobby heard a car pulling into the driveway he was confused. His first thought was that Imogen was back home early, but there was no way in hell that she would be home this early when he told her that she didn't have a curfew unless something was wrong.

Quickly Bobby pulled on the jeans he had just taken off. He slipped his gun into the waistband of his pants and slowly made his way down the stairs. The lights in the house were off, but through the window Bobby could see the silhouettes of two large men approaching the door. He had his hand on his gun and Bobby watched as one of them bent down to pick the lock.

"Ain't nobody robbin' me," he whispered to himself. Bobby hadn't seen Sam and Dean in nine months so it didn't even occur to him that's who was at the door.

The front door flew open and Sam flipped the light on in the hallway. Bobby had his gun pointed at the taller Winchester.

"Woah! Bobby!" Sam said, his hands raised defensively, "It's just us."

Bobby eyed the Winchester brother's suspiciously but lowered his weapon, "Sam," he nodded at the Winchester, "Dean," he did the same.

Dean smirked, "Hey'a Bobby. Good to see ya'," he patted Bobby on the back, smiling.

"Why the hell are you two breaking into my house?" he barked, "You got a key."

A loud laugh escaped the older Winchester, "Gigantor over here," he pointed to Sam, "Dropped all of the keys into the San Francisco Bay."

"What the hell were you doing in the San Francisco Bay?"

Sam sighed, "Well we heard a rumor about a hunt on Alcatraz Island. Ghost was allegedly murdering tourists that went to the island," he said, shaking his head, "We decided to take a tour there or whatever, get a feel for the place."

Dean chuckled at the memory and continued the story, "Sam couldn't quit throwing up the whole boat ride over. So we get to the island and of course it's loaded with EMF, I mean the meter was off the charts. But hundreds of people died there, right? Anyways, long story short Sam was walking the pier back to the boat and he fell into the Bay."

"Or you pushed me," Sam mumbled, "I had the keys in my hand and I dropped them when I fell in."

"I told you a thousand times I didn't push you. I wasn't anywhere near you."

Bobby frowned, "So did you find out who was killing tourists?" Bobby asked.

"Ah, it was nothing," Dean said, "We paid a couple security guards off and they told us it was just a ploy to get more tourists to pay to see the place."

Bobby nodded slowly, "So what are you two doing back on this side of the map?" he asked.

"Well," Dean smirked, "Came to see our kid sister. It's her birthday, thought we would surprise her. Is she upstairs?"

Bobby frowned, checking his watch, "You know, it's pretty late. Why don't you guys get some rest and we'll all go out for breakfast or something in the morning?"

This piqued Dean's interest, "What, is she asleep or something? It's been forever since we last saw her, I don't think she'll mind getting woken up by her favorite brother."

Sam cleared his throat, "Favorite brothers," he corrected.

"Come on, guys," Bobby sighed, shifting uncomfortably.

Now Sam was feeling a little suspicious. It wasn't like Bobby to hide something, so whatever it was must be pretty big.

"She's not here, is she?" Sam asked.

Bobby frowned, looking down at his feet, then slowly back up at the Winchester brothers, "No, she's not here."

"What the hell, Bobby?" Dean yelled, "We drove for like two days straight to get here on time. Where the hell is she?" then he paused, his brain going to the worst possible scenario, "You let her go hunting, didn't you? She's out there hunting all by herself," Dean ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head, "How could you do that Bobby? Why the hell didn't you call and tell us?"

"Well, first and foremost neither of you answer your phones so how the hell would I call you anyways?" the old man lectured, "And no, she's not out hunting. You think I'm a natural born idjit?"

"Where the hell is she?" Dean demanded.

"It's her birthday, she went out," Bobby explained, trying to cover not only his own ass but also Imogen's and Nick's.

"She went out?" Sam questioned, "With who?"

Bobby shrugged, "A friend."

"Imogen has friends?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, I mean if I knew you guys were coming into town I would have had her stay home, or go out another night or something."

"Well," Dean scoffed, "How dare she not be here when she didn't know we were coming."

Bobby rolled his eyes.

Sam smiled a little, "So she's got friends? She's becoming like a normal person," he couldn't hide the pleasure on his face.

"Eh, now don't get ahead of yourself, boy. She's not exactly normal. Still weird as hell and obsessed with everything involving hunting, but yeah she's got a friend."

"So who is this friend?" Dean asked, "Is she hot?"

Bobby gave Dean a scolding look but shook his head, "Not your type."

"Ah come on Bobby," Sam pleaded, "Tell us about Imogen's friend," he smiled, "I can't imagine her hanging out and painting nails with some other girl."

"Yeah," Bobby scratched his head, "That's not exactly what they do together."

"Well, come on. Give us something, we're dying," Dean walked passed them and into the kitchen where he grabbed a couple of beers, walking back into the living room and passing out the beers before taking a seat.

"Ah sure, help yourself to my beer," Bobby grumbled, popping the top off of one and taking a drink.

"So who's the friend?" Sam asked, sitting down and opening his own beer.

"What makes you think I know anything about this friend?" Bobby quizzed, sitting down in his favorite chair.

"Well, you're Bobby. You aren't gonna let Imogen just run off with someone you don't know," Dean explained, "So what are you hiding? Is she like screwing a eighty-year-old man or something?"

Bobby shook his head, feeling exhausted, "I shoulda just shot your boys at the door," he grumbled.

"So what's her name?" Sam asked.

"Nick," Bobby finally stated, "Imogen's friend's name is Nick."

"Ohhh," Dean smiled, "Like Nicole? She sounds like a bad girl."

Sam groaned, "Oh my god, Dean. She's probably like fifteen."

Bobby downed his beer, he needed to tell the boys now so they could get their anger out on him and not on Imogen when Nick brought her home, "No, not like Nicole," he took a deep breath, "Nicholas."

Dean's gaze slowly changed from goofy to serious as he looked at Bobby, "That's not a girl's name."

"Yeah, what the hell? You said her friend was a girl," Sam barked.

Bobby shook his head, "Nope, never said that. You two just assumed."

"You let our sister run off with some guy in the middle of the night?" Dean growled, "What the hell do you even know about this guy?"

"Probably nothing," Sam snarled, "We gotta go find her, she could be hurt," he got to his feet, "Where the hell are they?"

A long sigh escaped Bobby, "She's fine," he stated slowly, "Nick's a good guy. He's not gonna let anything happen to her."

"Who the hell is this Nick guy?" Dean barked, slamming his fist down on the table, "Are they just friends or?" Dean shook his head.

"Nick has been Imogen's boyfriend for about five months now," Bobby told them.

"Five months?" Sam's eyes went wide, "And you didn't stop to tell us when we checked in?"

"I didn't want you to come in and screw things up for her!" Bobby barked back, "She was finally happy! You guys left without as much as a goodbye and she barely got out of bed! She stopped eating, I thought she was going to die! All she could do day in and day out was go through the boxes of her mom's old stuff. It got so damn bad that I had to hide all her mom's stuff and tell her that I burned it. Things were awful for months. But then this boy comes through and changes absolutely everything. It was like the day she met him she turned into a completely different person. I wasn't gonna let you boys take the last bit of happiness that she had left."

Sam sighed softly, "I didn't know things were that bad."

"Well, you would have if you had bothered to call her even once in the last nine months."

Dean sighed, "Still doesn't change the fact that she's not allowed to have a boyfriend."

"Says who?" Bobby barked, "She's a teen, teens date. Normal teens anyways."

"Yeah, normal kids date. Imogen isn't normal. You said they've been dating five months? How old is he?"

Bobby frowned, "Imogen told me he was eighteen," he sighed.

Dean shook his head, "You let my fifteen-year-old sister date an adult?"

"She's sixteen now, Dean," Sam corrected, receiving a bitch face from Dean that shut him right up.

"Jesus Christ, Dean. You're over reacting. You know that right?" Bobby let out a groan.

"The hell I am," the older Winchester barked, "Where did they go?"

"I don't know, she didn't tell me. Something about Nick surprising her. I didn't ask for details."

A loud groan escaped Dean, "Does she have her phone on her?" he asked, "We can track the GPS."

"Come on, Dean. Don't ruin her birthday."

Sam frowned, "We should at least go and make sure she's okay."

"Fine," Bobby stated, "But don't you boys even let her see you there. She deserves to have a good night."

Dean had his phone open and was getting the coordinates of Imogen's phone, "She's close," he stated, "Just a few miles away."

Sam looked at Bobby, "You're coming with us, right?"

Bobby frowned, "Someone's gotta keep you two away from her. I'm serious, do NOT ruin this for her."

Dean turned on his heel to head out of the house, Bobby and Sam following right behind him. They got in the car and Dean headed to the place the phone told them to go. A few minutes later Bobby spotted Nick's Mustang on the side of the road.

"Right here," he told Dean, pointing at the car," That's Nick's car."

Dean made a face, "You let my sister go out with someone who drives a Mustang?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "How about we ask better questions. Like why the hell is the car on the side of the road and are they inside of it?"

"I'll check," Bobby muttered, getting out of the Impala and walking over to look inside, "Nothing," he called to the boys who had followed him, "They aren't in there."

Sam glanced at the field of corn and back to his brother and Bobby.

"I hate cornfields," Dean muttered, stomping over to it with Bobby and Sam at his heels, "Got abducted by some damn fairies in one," he grumbled before falling silent and pushing his way into the field.

It took them several minutes to reach the clearing that Nick and Imogen were asleep in and when they did it took all three of them a second to realize what they were looking at. Imogen's head was laying on the man's bare chest and it was obvious that they were naked underneath the blanket that was barely covering the two of them.

Dean started to charge, but Bobby grabbed him, "Dean," he growled, "Go back to the car. I'll take care of this."

"Oh to hell you will," Dean barked, "You've done enough," he ripped away from Bobby and was at Nick's side in an instant. He grabbed Nick by the arm and jerked him upright, "Hey buddy," he snarled as Nick opened his eyes and looked at Dean.

"Who are you?" Nick asked, obviously confused. He looked over Dean's shoulder to see Bobby, "Bobby what's going on?"

Dean's fist collided with Nick's face, "Put your pants on and fight me like a man!"

And Sam was jerking Dean backwards and away from Nick, "Dean are you crazy?" Sam yelled, "He's a kid!"

Nick was quick to get his clothes on. Imogen had woken up but was slow from the alcohol and Nick was trying to help her get dressed as well.

"Baby," he whispered, "It's gonna be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he told her.

"Get your goddamn hands off my sister!" Dean yelled, still being held back by Sam.

Nick didn't listen, he helped Imogen into her dress and to her feet, blood pouring from his nose.

"Nick, what happened?" she asked, "What's going on," then she spotted Dean and Sam, "Oh god," she breathed, realizing they had been caught in such a compromising situation.

Dean broke free from Sam and grabbed Nick by the shirt that he was now wearing.

"Dean!" Imogen yelled her voice thick from the alcohol, trying to get between the two but Bobby ran over to pull her away.

Nick looked at Dean. The absolute hate that Dean had in his eyes made Nick truly believe that he was going to die, "You're Dean?" he swallowed.

"Yeah, I'm Dean," he snarled, "You know who else I am? Someone who doesn't like adults to mess around with children."

"Dean!" Imogen screamed, being held back by Bobby, "I'm not a child."

"I swear man," Nick stammered, "We waited until tonight for a reason."

"Why? You think just because she's a year older it makes it okay for the likes of you to put your hands on my sister? How the hell old or are you anyways?" Dean demanded.

"Twenty-two," Nick said, "That's why we waited. I didn't want anyone getting in trouble for it. I swear man, tonight was the first time we did anything."

"You're twenty-two?" Bobby spoke up, looking to Imogen, "He's twenty-two? You told me he was eighteen."

Imogen swallowed hard but nodded. Everything was about to come crashing down and it was all her fault, "Dean, please!" she begged, then looked to Sam, "Sammy."

Sam didn't meet her eye, didn't make a move to help.

Dean's grip tightened on Nick's shirt, "You see that girl over there?" he asked, his face right up against Nick's.

"Yes," Nick nodded, swallowing hard.

"Yeah, she's fifteen," Dean snarled.

Nick's eyes went wide and his jaw hung up, "F-fifteen… You're fifteen?" he looked to Imogen.

"No!" Imogen shook her head.

Dean nodded, "That's right, I'm sorry. Today is her sixteenth birthday."

Nick looked to Dean, even more scared than he was before, "Man, I didn't know. I swear. She told me she was seventeen when we met. I thought tonight was her eighteenth birthday."

"Bullshit," Dean growled, slamming his fist into Nick's face again before just starting to pummel him into the ground.

Imogen screamed and tried with all of her drunken might to pull away from Bobby, but the man was stronger, "Stop!" she screamed with tears streaming down her face, "You'll kill him!"

Sam hesitated, wanting to see Dean kill the guy just as much as Dean wanted to. But he couldn't bear the screams of his sister and he walked slowly over to pull Dean away, "That's enough," Sam said, holding his brother's shoulders, "Dean that's enough."

Dean nodded, wiping the sweat and the blood from his face as he took a few steps away.

Sam bent down to help Nick up. He wanted to wail on him too, but the way his sister was screaming and crying, he just couldn't, "You okay?" Sam mumbled.

Nick spit out some blood but nodded, "I've had worse," he took a deep breath, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea. If I had known," his gaze fell on Imogen and he trailed off, "I'm so sorry."

Dean looked at the man, "Take your crap and leave. Now."

Nick nodded, leaning down to put all of the blankets into the bag and started heading out of the field.

"Nick!" Imogen cried to him, Bobby had relaxed his grip on her and she fell to her knees.

Nick looked over his shoulder at the wailing Winchester. More than anything he wanted to go to her, pull her into his arms, hold her, and make everything all better. He almost did too, but he saw the Winchester brothers glaring at him and he turned to walk out of the cornfield.

The only one who made a noise was Imogen who was sobbing hysterically. They could hear Nick's Mustang start up and drive away. Dean bent down next to his sister and tried to help her up, thinking he could somehow comfort her.

The second that Dean was eye level with her she threw a punch. It was meant to be a center face hit, but she was a bit drunk and he attempted to dodge it, so it hit his cheek instead and he fell onto his backside.

"Damn kid," he rubbed his swelling cheek, "You haven't lost your touch."

"I HATE YOU!" the girl screamed, immediately being pulled to her feet by Bobby and restrained, "You ruined everything! You always ruin everything!" she screamed through the tears, "I wish you had stayed in hell because that's where you belong!"

Dean was taken aback and Sam had to help him to his feet.

"Why couldn't you just stay gone? Why come back here and ruin the one good thing that I have?" she demanded.

"You got no idea what you're talking about, kid."

"Oh, I don't? I know that I love Nick. I know that Nick loves me! And you show up and ruin it. Just like you ruin everything. Hell, if you hadn't showed up at Stanford Sam's girlfriend Jessica might still be alive!"

Sam frowned, "Imogen, stop before you say something you regret," he warned.

"No, I won't stop. I hate you both! You abandon me here without so much as a good bye and then you come back just to fuck my life up even more!"

"HEY!" Dean yelled, taking a step towards her, "If it wasn't for me and Sam you'd be dead or in an orphanage somewhere, so how about showing a little respect? We took you in no questions asked. We took care of you. Have you ever gone without food or water or really anything you wanted? Who the hell pulled your ass outta that vamps nest? Who's been cleaning up your messes for more than a decade, not asking for anything in return?"

"Oh yeah?" Imogen snarled, "Maybe you shoulda just left me in that vamps nest. Let me fucking die! The way you let my mother die!" she screamed hatefully.

A chill flooded all three of the men's bodies. Imogen didn't know the truth, and there was no need for her to find out the truth. She didn't need to know that her mother was the monster, and Dean had to put her down.

Dean shook his head, Imogen's words stinging him in a way she didn't realize, "You need to shut the hell up about things you don't understand," He took a deep breath, "Sam and I did EVERYTHING we could to save your mom. You think that we wanted to raise your snobby, bratty, ungrateful ass?"

"Dean, enough," Sam said softly, trying to end the fighting.

"Please! Knowing you two you probably used her as bait and that's why she's dead! That's what you always do with the pretty blonde girls," she shook her head, "Remember Joe and Ellen?" she asked, shaking her head, "No, probably not. You tend to use women and then forget about them the second they are out of sight. Like father like sons."

Dean wanted to strangle her, though he would never lay a hand on her. She was using everything she could against him, and it wasn't going to stop.

"That's enough!" Bobby yelled, "No one speak another damn word to anyone until it's daylight. We are going back to my place and we are all going to sleep. Now!" he said, dragging Imogen by the arm back to the Impala. He shoved her into the back seat and got in next to her.

"I can walk," Imogen muttered.

"I said not a damn word," Bobby barked as Sam and Dean got into the front seat and drove them back to Bobby's.

Once they were all inside Bobby looked at everyone, "No one is leaving," he looked directly at Dean, "When I wake up every damn one of you better be in this house. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone nodded. Bobby grabbed Imogen's arm once again and pulled her up the stairs to her room.

"Bed," he told her, "Sober up. We'll talk tomorrow."

Imogen wanted to argue, but she was still too drunk and tried to be bothered so she walked into her room and collapsed on the bed, and almost immediately fell asleep.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Imogen woke late the next morning. The sun was shining into her room, falling across her face. Slowly she stretched and sat up. Her head was pounding and she felt a bit nauseous, she was hungover. She's had way too much to drink last night, and she knew that at the time, but she had been nervous and the booze had helped.

So Imogen got to her feet and made her way across the hall to the bathroom. She peed and then went to wash her hands. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her face was smeared with dirt and her hair was oily with leaves sticking out of it.

She sighed and slipped out of the dress she had worn on her date last night. She had fallen asleep in it. She stepped over the edge of the bathtub, closed the shower curtain, and turned the water on. It was ice cold at first so she stood at the edge of the tub trying to avoid it, but in a few minutes it was warm and she stood underneath it. Slowly she ran shampoo through her tangled hair and cleaned off her body. She was sore everywhere, like she had been the one to get her ass beat the night before instead of Nick.

The girl took her sweet time in the shower. She was hopeful that everyone in the house would be awake and waiting for her and she wanted to keep every last one of them waiting as long as she could. They had ruined her night, all of them, Bobby was just as guilty for letting them. And she was going to make them wait as long as she could.

A good forty-five minutes later she stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her, and headed back across the hall to get dressed. She shut and locked her bedroom door before digging around in her dresser for something to wear. Imogen remembered when Bobby gave her this dresser. He had actually built it for her one weekend soon after Sam and Dean had ditched her here. He had walked into her room and saw all her clothes laying on the floor.

"How do you know what's clean and what's dirty?" he had asked.

Imogen just shrugged, "Smell, mostly."

The very next day he had gone to the hardware store and bought the supplies he had needed for the project. It took him three days to get it built, painted, and upstairs, but he had done it without complaint. The thing wasn't perfect, it looked really nice but the drawers sometimes didn't want to come out or didn't want to go back in. But it was hers and it was the only thing she'd ever had to keep her clothes in besides a bag since Sam and Dean took her in.

Imogen pulled a pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt out of her dresser and pulled them on. She wasn't going to look presentable for these asshats, not after what they had done last night. She walked out of her room barefoot and quietly creeped down the stairs. She wanted to hear them before they heard her.

She stopped at the foot of the stairs and listened hard. All she could hear was the sound of the TV. So she got off the stairs and walked through the living room. Dean was snoozing on the couch, sitting upright with the remote in his hand, Sam and Bobby were nowhere in sight. She creeped in front of Dean on her way to the kitchen, hoping he wouldn't wake up and see her. Once in the kitchen she slowly slid the doors shut and walked across to make a pot of coffee.

When she turned back around Dean was standing in the now open doors, looking like he has just woken up- which he had. Imogen nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Jesus Christ," she barked, "Lucky I don't have a gun on me or I woulda shot you."

Dean raised an eyebrow and took a few steps into the kitchen, "Why don't you have a gun on you?" he asked, opening the fridge and looking in it, obviously not finding anything he was willing to eat and shutting it back.

Imogen just rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Because Big Brother, I knew if anyone bad or hell anyone that I love got near me you'd take care of them."

Dean frowned and folded his arms over his chest, "Imogen, that guy was way too old for you. And you're way too young to be having sex."

The small girl bit back her anger as best she could, "And how old were you when you started having sex?"

"We aren't talking about me," he sighed, "You're not ready."

"How the hell would you know?" she growled, "You don't even know me! Haven't even sent me a courtesy postcard since you ditched me here months ago."

"Okay, that's fair," he nodded slowly, "What do you even know about this kid?"

"I know that his name is Nicolas Lee Packwood. He moved here from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He came here for college to get away from his shitty father after his mother died and he graduated high school. His birthday is on Christmas and he was born premature and addicted to methamphetamine. He originally came here to study filmmaking but school wasn't his forte and he flunked out. Now he's a disc jockey at the local radio station three times a week and he works as a substitute teacher at the elementary school when he can to make rent," she paused to take a breath, "I've known him five months, what else do you need to know?"

Dean let out a long and low sigh, "Fine, what does he honestly know about you?" he retorted, "I mean, what does he really know? What have you told him that isn't a lie you used to cover up who you really are?"

Imogen paused and bit her lip, she was at a loss for words. The truth was he didn't know much about her. He hadn't known her real age, what her brothers really did for a living, what she thought actually happened to her mother. Nothing.

"That's not fair, Dean."

"Sure it's fair. You know everything about him and he knows nothing about you. What does that say about your relationship?"

"What the hell!" she shouted, "You've conditioned me since the beginning of time to keep this damn secret. Not to tell anyone that we don't have to and who doesn't already know. You and Sam kept me away from people, from all people, how the hell am I supposed to know what to do and not to do in a relationship!" she turned away from her brother to pour herself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee and sipped on it.

"You're coming back on the road with me and Sam," Dean stated.

A chill went up her spine. For months those were the words she wanted to hear come out of her brother's mouth. That's all she wanted was to be back on the road with her brothers, hunting. But then she met Nick and that wasn't what she wanted anymore. That life was lonely. She hadn't realized it before, she'd never had a friend. Now she didn't want to leave Nick. She knew if she left now that it would be over.

"The hell I am," she scoffed, turning back around and taking another drink of her coffee.

"You are," Dean stated, "We talked it over last night."

"Who?" Imogen asked, "Who talked it over?"

"Me and Sam," he looked at her, "You can't stay here. Who knows what kind of trouble you'll get yourself into?"

"I'm not going," she looked at him, "You can't make me."

"You wanna bet?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, you try and take me I'll just run off."

"Sam and I will watch you. We'll take turns staying all night and making sure you stay put."

"Really?" Imogen asked, "That's what you wanna do? Sounds like a lot of work to me."

"I like work," he smirked, "Keeps my mind busy."

"I'm not going," she stated again, "I'm staying here with Bobby."

"Bobby doesn't want you here," Dean smiled, shaking his head, "Don't you understand? You've caused him nothing but grief. To him you are just a pain in the ass that costs him money. The only reason he let you stay here is because Sam and I asked him too."

The mug of coffee Imogen was holding slipped from her fingers and crashed to the ground, shattering and burning her toes, but she didn't so much as flinch. Her hand was still held like she was holding an invisible mug and was shaking.

"Did… Did he say that to you?" Imogen asked, her voice failing her.

Dean nodded, "Not those exact words, but yeah."

Imogen took a deep breath and headed back through the living room and to the stairs. Dean followed close behind her.

"So you see what I mean. If you're gonna be anyone's problem you're gonna be mine and Sam's. Got it? We are the ones who agreed to take you in the first place, and now we are taking you back."

Imogen got to her bedroom door and slammed and locked it before Dean was able to come in. She could hear his voice saying something on the other side but she wasn't listening. Quickly she pulled on her jeans and a better fitting shirt. Dean was still talking on the other side of the door so Imogen opened up her window, climbed out onto the roof, and scaled down a tree near the front porch.

She slowly made her way over to her motor bike that Bobby had given her the day before and straddled it. She looked up and saw Bobby heading her way, helmet in hand.

"You forgot something," he said, plopping the pink thing down on her head, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Look, Bobby. I'm sorry. I know I've been nothing but a burden to you since I got here."

"What the hell you talking about?"

Imogen cut him off, "You don't have to pretend like I'm not a pain in the ass. Look, I won't be gone too long. I have to see Nick. I've gotta explain myself to him. I messed up, and I messed up big. Just please do me a favor and don't tell Sam or Dean where I went. Please, Bobby."

Bobby frowned, but nodded and turned away to walk back towards the house.

Imogen turned on her bike and tore out of the driveway, gravel flying every which way. She sped down the road as fast as she could manage and in ten minutes she was at Nick's. She parked the bike, pulled off her helmet, and pounded up the steps to his apartment and banged on the door. He was here, he had to be here, but she got no answer.

She groaned, she didn't want to have to pick the lock but he wasn't really giving her a choice. She pulled out her multi-tool, flipped out the best option for the job, and in less than a minute that door popped open. She shut it behind her and immediately made her way into Nick's room without bothering to knock.

He was laying on his bed in the same clothes he had been in the night before. His face was swollen and covered in dry blood. His eyes were closed, but Imogen was sure that he was awake. She slowly walked over to the bed and lay down in front of him. Almost instantly his arms were winding around her and pulling her close.

Her heart raced. She thought he was going to reject her, tell her to get out of go away that this was the end, and now he was pulling her to him. The two lay there for quite some time, Imogen knew he was crying, though he was doing his best to hide that.

"Nick," she whispered, "Let me clean you up, okay?"

All Nick could do was nod. So Imogen got to her feet and walked into the bathroom where she filled up a small bucked with warm water and grabbed a couple of wash cloths before she walked back into Nick's room. He was sitting upright so Imogen slowly worked his shirt off of him.

"I'm going to take care of you," she whispered, the girl grabbed a wash rag and dipped it in the water before gently wiping the blood from his face, "Nick," she breathed, trying to get the hardened blood off, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know my brothers were coming back. I swear to you."

Nick winced a little, he was very sore, "It's okay," his voice crackled with every word, "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is," she insisted, dipping the rag into the water to get some of the blood off before going back to his face, "I shouldn't have lied to you."

"No," he agreed, "You shouldn't have."

"I was just so afraid if you found out how old I was that you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

The older man let out little whine when she tried clearing the blood from his obviously broken nose, "You're probably right. If I had known from the start that you were only fifteen I wouldn't have dated you. I don't want to go to jail."

Imogen was silent as she got as much of the blood off as she could before she took the bucket back to the bathroom and dumped it out.

The girl walked back into the bedroom and sat next to him, taking his hand.

"I love you, Imogen."

"I love you too, Nick."

"How do I know that though?" he asked, slowly turning to look her in the eye, "How do I know what's the truth and what's a lie anymore?" he frowned, "I mean, is there anything else you're lying about?"

She frowned. How could she tell him that her brothers weren't really exterminators in the traditional sense? He would think she was crazy.

"Bobby's not really my uncle," she told him, "I mean, not by blood or anything."

Nick sighed, "Are Sam and Dean really your brothers?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, unfortunately. I mean, half-brothers, but you knew that."

Slowly Nick nodded, "Imogen, I'm sorry we just… We can't-" he was going to continue but Imogen cut him off.

"No, Nick. You can't do this. You can't end this. I didn't mean for last night to happen. I swear to you. Nick, I love you so much."

He sighed, "I love you too, but your brothers wanted to kill me last night when they caught us together."

"I know Nick, but screw them. I love YOU Nick. You are the most important person, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. We can run away together, it'll just be two years we have to stay in hiding. Two years and I'll be eighteen and no one can say anything ever again."

Slowly Nick shook his head, "And what if they find us, huh? What if Sam or Dean or Bobby tell the police and they track us down? Sure, you'll just get to go home back to your brothers, but I will go to jail. I'll be a pedophile."

"Nick," she begged, "Nick don't do this."

"I don't want to," he told her, "But I have to. I have to protect myself. I've worked too hard for too long to not become a criminal. I don't want to be my father."

"You aren't!" she pleaded, "You won't be. Nick, please," she was trying not to cry and gripping his hand with all of her might, like once she let go this would all be over, "Nick, I love you," and then she was kissing him and he was kissing her and the next thing either of them knew they were laying unclothed, side-by-side, and both breathing heavy.

"That was a mistake," Nick told her as he propped himself up on his elbow to look down at her, "I'm sorry."

She thought he had changed his mind. She thought things were okay now. Had he just gotten carried away and couldn't help himself? She knew she couldn't, but she also didn't want this to end.

Imogen swallowed hard, "What?"

"You need to leave," he said softly, "Imogen we can't. You're sixteen."

"Age is just a number," she said, desperately trying to hold onto him.

"Tell that to a court of law," he took a deep breath as he sat up and started to put his clothes back on, "Did I ever tell you what I was doing that day I met you at the doctor?"

Imogen sat up, keeping the sheet up against her so she would be covered, "Yeah, you were taking a piss."

Nick shook his head, "No, I was there because I had been really irresponsible."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I was running around every night I could at bars. Hooking up with women in bathrooms, in the car, hell even occasionally on a pool table if I could manage it. Women whose names I never even bothered to ask."

"Why are you telling me this?"

He sighed, "Because you deserve to know. Now be quiet and let me talk," he said gently, "I went to the doctor to make sure I didn't get any sexually transmitted diseases or infections, since I've never been that good at using condoms."

"Oh god," she frowned, "You're not about to tell me you have AIDS are you?"

Nick gave her a stern look, "No, I don't. I was clean. The day I met you I had just gotten the results that I was clean and I was going to go out and celebrate that night by doing what I had been doing all over again. Then I met you when you walked into the bathroom. All of a sudden it was like I had a whole new lease on life. I saw you and it was like we had this instant connection," he looked at her, "All of a sudden I didn't want to just fuck women and leave," he paused very briefly, "Imogen, I've never taken a woman to a carnival or a fair or anything like that. I've never gone five months without sex by my own choice. I was willing to wait for you. I wanted to make you happy. That's all that I wanted."

"You have, baby," she crawled over to him, wrapping her naked body around him, "You have made me so happy."

"Imogen, you lied to me."

"I know, and I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to think I was too young or too stupid."

"Just the fact that you lied to me about how old young were tells me that you're too immature to be in an adult relationship. I don't think you realize how much legal trouble I could get in for what we did last night, and for what we did just a few minutes ago."

"Nick, please," she begged, "Please don't do this."

"I have to," he said, slowly getting her off and standing up, "Please get dressed. Do you need a ride home?"

Imogen obeyed and pulled her clothes back on, "No, I have my bike."

Nick waited for her to get dressed and the two walked out to her bike together.

"So this is it? All this time together and you're going to kick me out of your life?" she said, sternly.

"Imogen, please. This is hard for me too."

"So what am I supposed to like lose your number? Forget everything that happened between us and pretend like I never met you."

He sighed and looked down at his feet.

"Just stop Nick. You don't get to be upset. You're the one breaking up with me."

"And you're the one who lied to me."

She scoffed, "Like you've never lied."

"Not to you," he shook his head, "I'll see you around, okay? If you need anything let me know."

Imogen shook her head, "You won't see me."

"What?" he asked, "Why would you say that? It's a small town we're bound to run into each other."

"Because Bobby's kicking me out."

"That doesn't sound like Bobby. That guy loves you."

"Yeah, well guess love isn't all it's cracked up to be," she pulled on her helmet, climbed onto her bike, and started it up.

Nick put a hand on the handle bars to keep her from leaving, "Where will you go?"

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Like you give a damn," she snarled as she backed the bike up and flew out of the parking lot.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

"Son of a bitch," Imogen muttered as her motor bike sputtered to a stop halfway between Nick's apartment and Bobby's house. She hopped off the metal-death trap and let it fall over sideways. She ripped off her helmet and tossed it onto the ground as well. She was in absolutely no mood for this.

The young girl reached into her pockets for her cell phone so she could call someone to come and pick her and her bike up off the side of the road, but as her hand reached her empty pocket she remembered that she had left her device at home so that her brothers wouldn't be able to track her location.

As hard as she could Imogen kicked the bike. It did absolutely no damage to the bike but it made her food hurt like a bitch. She was going to have to push this thing five miles back to Bobby's. Slowly she picked it up and started rolling it down the shoulder of the road.

It took the girl nearly three hours to get back to Bobby's and when she did actually get there neither the Impala or Bobby's truck where in the driveway. She rightly assumed they were out looking for her. She dropped the bike in the driveway and headed inside where she took a quick shower to get the sweat off of her and then walked downstairs to get herself something to eat.

Sam was sitting in the kitchen when she walked in. She nodded at him and then got the ingredients she needed to make a sandwich, "So what, you gonna tell me I'm a whore too?"

"What?" Sam asked, standing up away from his computer and stretching, "Who called you a whore?"

"Dean," she stated, spreading peanut butter on her bread.

"Dean called you a whore?"

Imogen shrugged, "I mean he didn't use those words, but pretty much."

Sam sighed, but stayed where he was, watching his sister make herself something to eat, "Look, Em. I'm not exactly thrilled about what we walked into last night," he paused briefly, "But I'm glad that you had the opportunity to have an actual human connection with someone who doesn't hunt monsters for a living."

Imogen scoffed as she screwed the lid back on the peanut butter and took a bite of the sandwich. She chewed and swallowed before responding, "Yeah, so happy for me that you and Dean completely ruined it."

"I know. We screwed up. Honestly, we just wanted to check on you and make sure that you weren't hanging out with some creeper who was gonna kill you because you're a Winchester."

"I'm not a Winchester," the girl stated plainly.

Sam's face crinkled, "What are you talking about?"

"Winchester isn't even my last name," she explained, "I found my birth certificate. My last name is Remington."

"Well, be that as it may you've still got Winchester blood. Unfortunately for you Dean and I have pissed a bunch of people off. A bunch of people who would love to torture you just to get at us."

The teen girl rolled her eyes, "You think I don't know that Sam? I've lived with you guys for as long as I can remember. I know you break the world and piss off all the other hunters. You think I would have even gone out with this guy if I thought he knew anything about who I was?"

Sam's lips pouted out almost pitifully, "Honestly, yeah I do. I think that you were so desperate for human connection that you were willing to be with anybody just to fill that hole," he lay a hand on his sister's shoulder, "Imogen, I'm so sorry we ditched you. We never should have. You needed us, then most of all and we just left."

Imogen jerked away from him, "Save it Sam. I don't need your lame ass apology. You're trying to get on my good side so I'll forget you and Dean are forcing me back out on the road with you," she shook her head, "There's nothing left for me here anyways. After the beating you let Dean give Nick he broke it off with me. So I'll pack my shit and be ready to go as soon as you guys want to. But don't think this is me forgiving you or Dean. This is me getting back to my job," she stated as she tossed the rest of her sandwich in the trash and headed up the stairs to stuff her clothes into her bag.

Slowly Sam sat back down at his computer, "Well, that went well," he mumbled to himself as he picked up his phone to call his brother who still hadn't made it back to Bobby's.

"Hello?" Dean said, answering the phone with one hand and steering the Impala with the other.

"Hey, Dean. Imogen just made it back to the house."

"She did?" he said, almost happily, "Oh thank god. I couldn't find a trace of her anywhere. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. She said something about that Nick guy breaking up with her-"

"Good," he stated, "He had bad news written all over him."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't say that to our sister. She seemed to like him."

"She's a naive kid," Dean reasoned, "She'll get over it."

"Maybe," Sam paused, "She said she'll come back hunting with us. Do you wanna tell Bobby or should I?"

Dean frowned, speeding down the road, "I'll tell him. He's not gonna be happy about her leaving and it'll sound better coming from me."

"What?" Sam scoffed, "Why?"

"Because," Dean said with a smirk that Sam couldn't see, but could most certainly hear in his voice, "I'm Bobby's favorite," he paused, "Oh hey, do me a solid and don't mention anything to Em about Bobby being upset about her leaving."

There was a short pause before Sam spoke, "Why? Dean what did you do?" 

"I may have kinda told her that Bobby wanted her out."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Sam scowled.

"Well, I thought it would make her decide she wouldn't fight coming back out with us. And hey, I was right wasn't I?"

Sam let out a sigh, "I'll see you when you get back."

And the two hung up their phones. Sam called Bobby to let him know that Imogen was back and then he slowly made his way up the stairs. He quietly knocked on her door and since it wasn't shut all the way it creaked open.

Imogen looked over her shoulder from folding and stuffing her clothes into the bag, "What, Sam?" she asked, coldly.

"Hey, Em. Come on. Don't do that. Don't cut me off."

Imogen scoffed, "Oh, I shouldn't cut you off? I shouldn't cut you off the way that you and Dean cut me off for months?" she slowly shook her head, "How many times did I call and text you before you changed your number?"

Sam sighed, guiltily, "I'm sorry, Imogen. I really, truly am."

"Just stop, okay?" she barked, "Stop apologizing. Stop. I don't want to hear it. There's no reason in the world good enough to explain why you and Dean forgot about me for close to a year."

"We didn't forget about you!" he exclaimed, "We were trying to-"

Imogen cut him off, "You were trying to protect me. Whoopdie-fucking-do Winchester. That's all anyone in this family ever does. You try to protect Dean, Dean tries to protect you, and you both try to protect me. When the hell does it ever end in anything besides blood and tears?"

"I just… I just want my sister back. Look, this wasn't my idea. Yeah, I went along with it and I'm sorry for that. But we love you Imogen, and it scared the hell out of the both of us what happened to you. I don't know what we would do if we lost you."

The girl scoffed, locking eyes with the long-haired Winchester, "Oh, you'd be fine. Just so long as you and Dean were still alive. That's all that really matters to either one of you, right? Everyone else is expendable."

Slowly Sam shook his head, looking hurt and confused, "That's not true," he said, "That's not fair."

"Look!" the girl barked, "I said I go on the road with you. Doesn't mean that I'm going to be happy and vivacious all the time. Like I said, I gotta job to do and I'm gonna do it," she paused to collect herself and mellow out a bit, "Do you and Dean have a case or are we just gonna drive around aimlessly until we stumble across something?"

Bobby and Dean managed to pull up to the house at almost exactly the same time. In an instant Dean had the Impala parked and he had jumped out to walk over to Bobby.

"Hey'a Bobby," Dean smiled, watching the older gentleman make his way out of his truck.

Bobby slowly nodded as he shut the door to his truck, "Dean."

"So hey, Sammy and I just wanted to thank you for taking care of our sister while she was healing up. Now that she's good and we're back Sam and I think it's time that she came on the road with us."

Bobby scratched his beard while he was taking in what the older Winchester brother had to say, "You're what?" he asked.

"Sam and I, we want Imogen back out there with us."

"You can't be serious."

Dean narrowed his eyes, "Extremely serious. Her leg isn't broken anymore, so I don't see any reason for her to be your burden."

"That girl ain't a burden ya' idjit. She's one of the smartest and sharpest young minds I ever met."

Slowly Dean nodded in agreement, "Well, then it sounds like it would be stupid for me and Sammy not to have her playing for our team, don't'cha think?"

Bobby frowned. He wanted to disagree, he wanted to fight to keep Imogen with him. He knew he could do it if he just tried hard enough, if he could get Imogen to fight with him. But Sam and Dean were his kids just as much as Imogen was and he didn't want to fight.

"I really don't mind if she stays," Bobby stated, "She's good company."

"Yeah, well," Dean rubbed his neck almost nervously, "I don't really feel good about leaving her in your care."

"Excuse me?" Bobby scoffed, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you let her run around with random guys and spend nights out with them. I don't want that for my sister."

"Oh my God, Dean," Bobby let out a long sigh, "It was one guy. I spent countless evenings with him, he's nice, he's polite, and he cares for Imogen. You don't even know him and you're judging him."

"I know enough," Dean stated, "And I know that you obviously weren't keeping a close eye on her."

"What did you want me to do, strap a chastity belt on her and swallow the key?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I mean if that's what you gotta do."

"Look Dean, it's not exactly like I was running around tossing condoms at the kids and dimming the lights. But they are kids. Imogen was bound to have sex eventually, and aren't you glad it was with someone who she loved and who loved her who wasn't going to pressure her or hurt her?"

"Well, ideally she'd become a nun or wait until I was dead to have sex," Dean stated, "Then again, I've died a couple of times and it just doesn't seem to stick. So in a perfect world she'd be a virgin forever, yeah," he paused, "And you know that, Sam told me that the Nick guy broke up with her, so he obviously did hurt her. Guys just want the one thing. He got it and he was done."

"Nick didn't break up with her because they had sex, Dean. He broke up with her because you beat the hell outta him," A loud sigh escaped Bobby, "You know what, if after last night you can convince your sister to leave her willingly then I won't fight you on this. But I'm gonna make sure that she knows as long as I'm alive that she's always got a home with me. Just like you and Sam."

Dean nodded, "I'd expect nothing less, Bobby," Dean patted him on the back and the two headed for the front door together.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted once he made it through the front door.

Sam appeared at the top of the stairs and made his way down, "Imogen's packing. I just told her about the supposed swamp monster sightings that keep popping up in Louisiana. She thinks it's probably just a shifter screwing with people."

Dean nodded, "She hasn't lost her touch, eh?"

Sam shook his head, "She'll be ready to go soon."

"So that's it?" Bobby stated, "You idjits ain't even gonna stay for dinner?"

Dean shook his head, "Nah, we need to get going before someone changes there mind."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, "Once we have her back out there I think she'll loosen up a bit. She's still pretty pissed."

A small smirk tore at Dean's lips, "Well good. All the best hunters are pissed off all the times. Helps to stop feeling guilty about killing things. Well, that and whiskey."

"How inspirational," Imogen muttered as she trudged down the stairs with her bag hanging off of her shoulders, "Hey, Bobby. Thanks for letting me crash here."

Bobby nodded, "My home is your home, kid," and he pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back, neither wanted to let go until Dean cleared his throat.

"So listen, Bobby," Imogen began, "I had to leave a couple of my things upstairs, I apparently have way too much stuff now. So you can take it and donate it if it gets in your way. Whatever," she said with a shrug.

"Ready to go?" Dean asked, "Want me to take your bag?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, I got it. I'll meet you at the car," and she walked out the door without a glance behind her.

Sam and Dean both turned towards Bobby.

"Thanks so much for watching out for her," Sam stated, "We really appreciate it."

"My pleasure," Bobby stated gruffly, obviously unhappy about the current state of things, "She's welcome back here anytime."

Dean slowly nodded, "We're gonna hit the road."

"Then go," Bobby grumbled, motioning towards the door.

Both feeling a little hurt the Winchester brothers walked out of the house and to their car. They were not parting with Bobby on a positive note, that was for sure.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

It was really early in the morning when Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot of a seedy looking motel room. Imogen had been nodding off and on in the back seat, but when the car actually stopped. There was just enough daylight for her to see where they had pulled in.

"What the hell are we doing here?" she groaned, stretching and yawning at the same time.

"Sleep," Dean muttered as he took the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car.

Imogen got out too and turned to face Dean from the opposite side of the car, letting her body rest against the car, "Most places don't let you check in until like three in the afternoon, Dean," she stated condescendingly.

"Yes Imogen, I'm aware of check in policies. Won't hurt to try," he looked at the place, "Besides, this place looks like it charges by the hour anyways."

The youngest Winchester rolled her eyes as her brother turned to go into the office. Imogen bent down to look inside the front passenger's side. Sam's sleeping face was pressed up against the window and a bit of drool had dribbled down his chin. The girl knocked on the glass, scaring him from his sleep. Quickly he wiped the drool away and got out of the car.

"We here?" Sam asked, stretching his stiff muscles and looking around.

Imogen shrugged, "I guess so. Dean's inside trying to get a room. He looked pretty beat."

Slowly Sam nodded, "Yeah I bet. Drove twenty hours from South Dakota to Louisiana you would be too."

"I slept in the car, so I'm good to go."

"Must be nice," Sam chuckled a little, "Being small and curling up easily on that big back seat."

The girl scoffed, "You know what else must be nice? Being a strong, adult man and not having to take crap from anyone," she spat are she turned and walked towards the back of the Impala, keeping her back to Sam.

Sam sighed and shook his head, looking up when Dean came out with a room key.

"Morning Sammy," Dean smiled, "Let's get some sleep and then go interview some of the vics."

Imogen turned to look at her brothers, "I'm rested," she told them, "You two get some sleep, I'll go do the interviews."

Dean let out a loud laugh, "Oh no, no, Little Miss Muffet. Remember what happened last time you went off on your own?"

"Yeah," she smiled and nodded, "Oddly enough I do. But I'm not just gonna stand around and watch you two take a nap."

Dean looked to his brother for help.

Sam sighed, "I got a few hours of sleep in the car," he explained, "I'll go with her."

"Fine," Dean stated, looking to Imogen, "You listen to Sam, got it?"

"Whatever," the teen girl said with a roll of her eyes.

Dean felt a little fire building up inside of him. He had forgotten how difficult it could be having a teenager under his wing. He looked to Sam and tossed him the keys to the Impala, "Take care of her."

"The car or the sister?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," was all Dean said as he turned on his heel and headed up the stairs to the motel room. Once inside he flopped down on the bed and almost immediately passed out.

Sam got into the driver's seat of the Impala and waited until his sister got into the passenger before starting up the car and backing it out of the parking lot and heading down the road.

"You hungry?" Sam asked, yawning.

"We're on the clock, Sam."

Sam glanced down at his watch, "It's like five in the morning, Em. Think anyone is going to appreciate us knocking on their door this early and waking them up? Because I sure the hell don't. Pretty sure we'll get doors slammed in our face."

Imogen fidgeted a little and nodded, "You're probably right."

"So, what do you say we get something to eat? I think I saw a Biggersons on our way in to town."

"Sounds great," she nodded, staring out the window.

A few minutes later Sam pulled into the restaurant and the two got out of the car and went inside together. Sam got them a table and they both sat in silence looking at their menus.

Almost immediately after they were seated a young waiter, not much older than Imogen approached them, "Hey," he smiled goofily, "I'm Trey. I'll be your server this morning. What can I get you two to drink?" he asked, pulling out his pen and his order pad and looking at them almost excitedly.

Sam and Imogen spoke at exactly the same time with exactly the same word, "Coffee."

It caused the siblings to both sink back a little into their respective seats, but the discomfort went unnoticed by Trey and he laughed, "You two must be travelling," he stated, "Want any cream or sugar with that?"

"No," Imogen stated with a yawn, "We take it black."

Trey smiled and nodded once again, "Awesome, I'll be right back with it then," he said with a wink as he walked off.

The obviously flirting didn't go unnoticed by either Sam or Imogen, but neither said anything and they both went back to looking at their menus.

"I think I'm gonna have the grits and toast," Sam stated, laying his menu down on the table.

"Congratulations," Imogen mumbled, still staring at her menu. She didn't look up until their waiter came back with the coffee.

"Do you two know what you wanna eat?" Trey asked, smiling.

Sam nodded and gave the man his order.

"What about you, pretty lady?" he asked, sweetly.

"Oh, I'll have stack of pancakes and a side of bacon," she told him, smiling back at him.

He nodded approvingly, "A girl who can eat. I like you."

Imogen just smiled at him and handed him both her's and Sam's menus before picking up her mug of coffee and taking a sip.

"I'll go put your order in and see you two soon," he said as he headed off in the direction of the kitchen.

Sam couldn't help but to chuckle, "Better be glad Dean's not here."

"Oh, I'm always glad when Dean's not here," she repeated, "But what do you mean?"

"That guy," Sam nodded towards the kitchen, "He was totally flirting."

Imogen laced her fingers together and lay her hands on the table, looking Sam directly in the eye as she spoke, "First off brother, don't say 'totally' you're not a high school girl," she shook her head, "And second, no he wasn't."

Sam smirked and leaned back, "All right Em, but just know if Dean would have been here that kid's head would have gone through a window or something."

The young girl rolled her eyes and stood up, "I'm gonna go find the bathroom.

Imogen had to round a corner and ended up completely out of sight of her older brother. She had intended on going to the bathroom but she caught sight of the cute, flirty waiter standing outside smoking a cigarette and she instead walked outside. Maybe he had some information on this alleged swamp monster that he'd be willing to share with her, he was a local after all.

"Hey," she cracked a smile, "Aren't you supposed to be getting us food or napkins or something?" she asked teasingly.

Trey smiled back at her and took a puff from his cigarette, "I'm on break for another five minutes," he told her, holding out his cigarette and offering it to her.

Imogen started to refuse but then she thought of how horrified Sam or Dean would be if they saw her smoking so she took it from the waiter and took a drag. The smoke burned her lungs and made her eyes water, but she wouldn't let it show. She needed to seem cool right now. She exhaled the smoke and passed the cigarette back to Trey.

"So," Trey smirked at her, "You and your dad just passing through?"

Imogen raised an eyebrow, "Not my dad. And yeah, but we'll probably be here a couple days, maybe a week."

"Your boyfriend?" Trey questioned.

Imogen shook her head, "Nope. Brother," she smiled and decided now was the time to ask, "So, have you heard anything about that swamp monster?"

"You mean the one down in the bayou that's been muggin' people? I'm pretty sure that's just some dumb college kids or something," he let out a small chuckle, "Why you asking?"

"Oh, my brothers and I travel for work. They're investigating the case."

"What, are they cops or something?" Trey asked, looking a little paranoid.

Imogen shook her head, "No, they are writers. Mostly freelance stuff. They got a gig to cover this story, I tagged along to help."

Trey took another drag off of his cigarette before stubbing it out and flicking it into the wet grass, "Well, I don't know too much about it. But hey, if you're gonna be in town much longer you ought to have a good time."

The young girl smiled wickedly at him, "Oh, I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of someone who could show me a good time."

"You're looking at him," he winked at her again, "I gotta get back inside before I get fired. But hey, gimme your number and if you're not too busy there's a party tomorrow night I think you'd love."

Imogen smiled and nodded, exchanging numbers with the boy and she walked inside with him and back to the table. Sam's back was to her when she approached so he didn't see her and she took the opportunity to sneak up behind him. Suddenly she slapped her hand down on his shoulder and made a loud noise. It caused him to jump, slamming his knee against the table, and he started to pull out his gun when he caught sight of his sister slipping into the booth in front of him.

"Did I scare ya'?" she asked teasingly.

"Jesus Em, I almost shot you."

She shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time."

The older Winchester's face crinkled, "When have I ever shot you?" he asked defensively.

"Remember, we were on that hunt with those people and those monsters and stuff," she shrugged, "You remember."

Sam looked at her like she had just spoken Greek, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't know," she admitted with a smile as Trey brought out their food and set it in front of them.

"Is there anything else I can get y'all?" he asked.

"Some extra napkins," Sam looked at the boy, "Please?"

"Absolutely," Trey nodded, walking off to get the napkins.

"Is it just me or does he smell like smoke?" Sam asked softly.

Imogen shrugged, "Probably. We took a smoke break."

"You took a…" he paused, looking confused, "Since when do you smoke? Oh God, that damn Nick guy got you hooked didn't he?"

The girl pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and middle finger, "No, Samuel. Nick wasn't a smoker. I mean, his roommate was always high but that wasn't Nick. Figured I could get some info out of the guy if I got on his level, and guess what- it worked."

"Dean would be so proud," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, "So what did he know about the case?"

The meal was completely uneventful. The siblings spoke almost solely about the case, hashing out details. When they were done eating Sam paid the tab and met Imogen out at the car. They spent a good part of the day driving from house to house of the victims getting the information they could. It wasn't much help and wasn't anything they didn't already know. So after the third or fourth house they gave up and headed back to the motel. Dean had the key to the room so they had to knock until he woke up and let them in.

"So what did you guys find out?" Dean asked after he had let his siblings inside.

"Nothing we didn't already know," Sam said, setting his gun down on the bedside table and kicking back on the bed.

Imogen made herself a seat on the desk, "Whatever it is, it's mugging people, mostly college girls, who are walking alone at night. They all have the same story, it's usually a guy coming out of the water covered in seaweed, beating the hell outa them and taking their money and credit cards, before retreating."

"The locals think it's just some crazy criminal or college kids," Sam stated.

Dean chuckled, "Criminals, college kids, who can tell the difference anymore?"

"Could be a human," Imogen agreed, "But every single person is describing it differently. One person said he was a short black guy, another claimed he was six foot Asian, someone else swore it was Brittany Spears."

"So it's dark, people get confused," Dean stated, "Sorry Em, I'm not sure anymore that this is a case."

Sam frowned, "Dean, did you just wanna come out here because Mardi gras is in a week?"

Dean smirked a little, "Possibly."

"Well, I think it could be a case," Imogen told her brothers, "So here's my plan while you guys are out getting your beads. I'm going to go walk along the bayou by myself until who ever pops out and tries to kill me. Then I'm gonna bury a silver bullet inside it."

"Em, you're out of your damn mind if you think that we are gonna let you do that," Dean stared her down.

"Dean," Sam warned lowly, but then turned to his sister, "But seriously, he's right. That's a ridiculous plan."

"Why?" Imogen asked, "If it's a human then we did the police work, if it's not then we did hunter work."

"Okay," Dean sighed, "You're right, we should keep digging in the case, but there's no way in hell that we are using you as bait."

"Easiest way to lure it out," Imogen told him, "None of the other vics have died, and none of them were suspecting anything. I will be, and I'll kick its ass. You two can be hiding in the bushes or something to back me up if you really want."

Sam and Dean exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"This idea reeks, Em. Seriously, we can find another way to lure the bitch out," Dean told her.

"Really?" she barked angrily, "You got a better plan? Because if the monster even thinks for a second hunters are on its ass don't you think it'll be out of town in a second?"

Sam frowned, "She's right, Dean. I don't have a better plan, so if you have one I'd love to hear it."

Dean shot his brother a look that nearly made him flinch, "I swear to God if this plan goes south I'm taking it out on you," he told his brother, "Fine. We'll go at dark," he threw himself back down on the bed and turned to face the wall, mumbling unhappily.

Imogen couldn't help but to feel accomplished as she walked over to the couch and stretched her small body out on it. She mouthed a thank you to Sam before closing her eyes and drifting off. She hadn't realized how exhausting sleeping in the car was.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Slowly Imogen made her way down the dark path. She was dressed in a skin tight, white tank top and equally tight fitting jeans with her long, blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Dean had rolled his eyes when he had seen the way she was dressed, but she explained that she had to look the part if they were going to pull this off.

She was walking alone, but she knew that neither Sam nor Dean would let her out of their sight. In Imogen's mind she was invincible, everything bad that was going to happen to her already had, and now she could do whatever she wanted. So she strolled confidently down the muddy path, not missing a beat when the monster crawled out of the water and charged at her.

Imogen grabbed the man-appearing monster by the wrist and shoved him up against a tree. She couldn't see his face, but she didn't care.

"What are you?" she growled at him, pulling her silver knife out of her pocket and cutting him from elbow to wrist. An odd sense of satisfaction rippled through her when his skin sizzled from the touch of the metal, "Shifter, right?"

"Eat me, bitch!" he barked as he threw his head back into Imogen's, knocking her on her back.

He would have retreated back into the water but in an instant Sam and Dean were barreling out of the bushes. Dean had his gun raised and didn't hesitate before sending a silver bullet through the monster's heart. It dropped to the ground and Dean pushed it into the bayou with his foot.

"You're gator food now, bitch," he said with a smile as he tucked his weapon back into his pants.

Sam was helping Imogen up and inspecting her for injuries, "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she mumbled turning from him, "Thanks for the back up."

"Lose the attitude, Em," Dean instructed, walking over to join the pair, "Sammy and I just saved your bacon."

The girl rolled her eyes, "Yippee," she stated, "Now can we go or do you want a prize for doing your job?" she asked with her back turned to her brothers as she headed back to the Impala.

"Geeze," Dean wiped some sweat from his forehead as he walked back alongside Sam, "You need some tampons or something?"

Imogen flipped around to face her brothers, making the both of them instinctively take a step backwards, "God Dean!" she barked, "Have you ever in your life shut the fuck up?"

"Hey, Em!" Sam said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Cool it, okay?"

"No, I'm serious," she shook her head looking straight at Dean, "You think everything you say is so damn cute and funny, but really you're just obnoxious as hell. Your attitude is just as bad as mine, but no one says anything because of all your fucking daddy issues. Well, guess what buddy! We all have fucking issues, we just don't run being a prick all the time."

Dean's face stayed cold as stone, his eyes fixed on his sister, "You done?" he asked coldly.

"Unless Sam has something he wants to add."

Sam's lips tightened and he shook his head, obviously not liking being dragged into the middle of this conversation.

"Well," Dean began keeping his voice calm and contained, "Here's the thing little girl," he put a lot of emphasis on those last two words, knowing how much it would bother his sister, "You put just as much of your shit on me that I do on you. Only difference with you is I can't knock the hell out of you for being a dick like I would with Sam," he met his sister's eye once again, "You're still pissed about that stupid boy. Look Imogen, it happened like two days ago- it's old news. Get the hell over it."

"I'm not just pissed about Nick!" she yelled at him, "I'm pissed because I can't count on you!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean demanded, "If it hadn't been for us who the hell knows what that shifter would have done to you?"

"Oh yeah? Well, what happens the next time I get hurt or whatever? Hell, you'll probably leave me to rot in a hospital somewhere, not even bother to dump me off on someone you trust. If I'm lucky you'll tell me you're going out for food and just not come back."

"Em," Sam sighed, "Come on."

Dean shook his head, "No, Sam. She's right. I ditched her, she can't count on me," he shrugged his shoulder, "So what, you wanna go your own way? Because that's not happening."

Imogen folded her arms over her chest and stared at her brother defiantly.

"No, I'll tell you what you're gonna do. You're going to get in the Impala, bottle up your feelings like a real Winchester, and you'll let the anger come out in bouts of violent monster hunting and alcoholism."

"Dean!" Sam barked but didn't press the issue.

Dean shook his head and made his way into the Impala, "Welcome to the family business!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"I hate you, Dean Winchester," Imogen barked, not moving from her spot.

Sam had a look on his face like he really didn't want to be standing there, like he would much rather be standing anywhere else in the entire world.

Dean slowly turned to face his sister, and words of wisdom from a previous generation leaked out of his mouth, "You don't like me- fine. It's not my job to be liked. It's my job to raise you right. Now get in the damn car and let's go back to the motel."

Imogen shook her head and got into the car. She was done arguing with him, done letting him have that much control over her. She was just done

The trio didn't leave town that night, they all went back to the motel and slept hard for several hours. Hunting was exhausting. The threat was gone and no one was the wiser of what they had done so Dean decided they would all stay a couple of days. Imogen didn't argue, in fact she was secretly glad because she did want to unwind a little and she knew Trey, the waiter she had met at Biggersons the day before, could help her with that.

She had been texting with Trey and they made a plan that he would come pick her up at the motel to take her to the party. The only problem was going to be explaining to Sam and Dean her absence, but she was a good liar so she wasn't too worried about that.

"I'm going out for a run," she told her brothers, heading towards the door of the motel, "Don't wait up," the sun had just gone down and Trey was heading to get her. She was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, but she had secretly dropped a bag of clothes out the bathroom window that she planned to change into once she was out of sight of her brothers.

"Run?" Dean asked from where he was laying on the bed, beer in hand, "Since when do you run?"

"Since my leg quit being broken," she barked, hand on the door knob.

"Wait," Sam looked at her, "You want some company?"

Imogen shook her head, "No thanks. I'm just gonna pop in my headphones and pretend that no one else in the world exists."

Slowly Sam nodded, "Okay, be safe."

And just like that she had skillfully lied to her brothers. She knew that they would soon realize that she wasn't out on a run, but she would be at the party by then and wouldn't care. She was out the door and down the stairs, she rounded the motel and grabbed the bag of clothes before ducking behind a dumpster to change. She walked back to the front and set the plastic sack of her running clothes on the Impala before walking to the front to meet Trey.

He pulled up in front of her and she immediately hopped into his car without a second thought. She didn't want to think, because all she could really think about was Nick and if she thought about Nick she would feel guilty and her night would be ruined, so she refused to think.

"Damn girl," Trey smirked at her, "You look fine."

Imogen glanced down at herself. She was wearing a white halter top and denim shorts with her black and white converse high tops.

"Thanks," she smiled at him, "You don't look to bad yourself. So where's this party at?"

"Local university," he told her, "Some buddies of mine are having a dorm party," he told her pulling out onto the street and heading in that direction.

"Sounds good," she smiled at him, clicking her seatbelt into place.

"Want some beer?" he asked, reaching into the back and pulling out a half empty bottle and passing it to her.

Imogen opened up the bottle and hesitated only slightly before taking a drink from it.

"Sorry, it's warm," he apologized, "They'll have better shit at the party, I'm sure."

Imogen just nodded and took another drink from her bottle, doing her best to ignore the fact that there was a guy she barely knew drinking and driving her to a party… She really hadn't put much thought into this evening.

It was a short drive to the party and Trey led her into a building. It was very obvious that he had been there before because he knew exactly where he was going and was greeted with gusto when they arrived at the correct room.

It didn't take long before everything started blurring together for Imogen. She hadn't drank more than a couple beers and had even politely turned down the pills she had been offered, but still she could barely stand upright. Other party-goers didn't notice.

Finally she found Trey, almost collapsing into him, "I think I need to go," she said, her own voice echoing in her ears as she saw two of everything.

Trey put an arm around her, slowly leading her back into a bedroom and laying her on a bed, "Here," he said, kindly, "Just lay down for a little while. I'll come check on you in a bit."

Imogen wanted to argue and make him take her back to the motel, but once she was on the mattress she couldn't get back up. She didn't feel right, this didn't feel like just being drunk to her, this was something else.

The young girl faded in and out of sleep, but when the music was at its loudest was when someone joined her in the room. Her eyes didn't want to open, but she could hear them moving around and felt the bed sink slightly when they sat down next to her.

"Imogen," she heard her name called by a very familiar voice, and someone gently rubbing her hip where her shirt didn't quite cover, "Imogen," her name was said again, this time she heard it more clearly.

Imogen opened her eyes and looked up. She had to blink a couple of times before her eyes came into focus in the dimly lit room, "Dean?" she asked, recognizing the face, "How the hell did you find?"

"Oh, sweetheart," her brother's face smiled evilly and he shook his head, "I'm not Dean, I just look like him."

"Huh?" Imogen asked, not quite understanding what was going on.

"Sorry, I don't really feel like playing this guessing game since you've got a ton of drugs in your system, so I'm just going to spell it out for you."

"Drugs?" she asked, "Who gave me drugs?"

"Me," the man stated, "They were in the bottle I handed you when I picked you up. For a hunter you really are an idiot," he shook his head, "Look, I'm a shifter."

"No," she shook her head, "Dean shot the shifter."

"Yeah, he shot one of them. He shot my FATHER," the Dean look-a-like stated.

"Shape shifters have families?"

"Would you just shut the hell up and let me talk?" he barked before continuing, "I pegged you guys as hunters the second you walked into that diner. Warned my dad you'd would be after him, neither of us thought they'd use the girl as bait. Guess we were wrong there."

"Guess so," Imogen mumbled, rubbing her pounding head, "So my brother shot your daddy. You drugged me, why?"

"Well, my original plan was to get you messed up and plant my seed in you, come back in nine months after you'd birthed my baby and kill you. I mean, you killed off my father so I've got to keep the blood line going."

"Dressed up as my brother?" she questioned.

"Yep. Give you all kinds of nasty images to live with the rest of your life."

"So what changed your mind?" she asked, almost nonchalantly, "I mean, what's stopping you?"

"Well," the monster smirked, "When I met you in the restaurant I wasn't close enough to smell, or even when we were in the car, but here in the room," he leaned down, awkwardly craning his head towards her neck and taking a loud whiff of her, "I can tell that someone's already planted their seed inside you. Must have just happened recently. So what, are you some skanky bar girl who will go home with just about anyone because her brothers don't know how to keep their hands to themselves?" he asked, keeping his face mere inches from hers, "Maybe I was wrong, and this body hovering over yours wouldn't be all that new for you."

Imogen felt her fist collide with the shifters face. Her body was still wobbly, sure the drugs were wearing off but in this state she was absolutely no match for the shifter. She was dead meat, and she knew it. In an instant Shifter-Dean had his hand locked around her throat and was pressing her up against the wall, tightening his grip so that no air could get inside. She felt her body starting to ache as the room started to spin and then everything went completely dark.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Dean was nodding in and out of consciousness. He had spent most of the day sipping on beer and watching pay-per-view on the TV, however he was trying now to stay awake and wait for his sister to come back. Nodding off to sleep he spilled his bottle of beer on his chest and immediately woke up and got to his feet.

"Son-of-a-bitch," he mumbled, pulling his soiled shirt over his head and throwing it on his napping brother, "Sammy," he barked, watching his brother have a little freak out and throw the shirt to the ground.

"What the hell, Dean?" Sam wiped some drool from his chin and sat up, "Why's that wet?"

"I peed on it," Dean said, grabbing his bag and getting out another shirt, "Em's still not back. Think she lied about where she was going?"

Sam checked the time, "Two hours is kind of a long time for a jog."

"Where the hell would she go? I mean, it's not like she has any friends in this town."

Sam shrugged, "The waiter we had at the restaurant was flirting with her."

Dean let out a loud groan, "Of course he was. Pull up her GPS and let's go get her."

"Dean," Sam let out a sigh, "Let's go check on her. We'll only intervene if the situation calls for it."

"What are you talking about?" the older Winchester asked, "Of course we're gonna intervene. She's probably out getting pregnant or something."

Sam glared at his brother, "Dean, she's allowed to have a social life. I mean hell, you are out talking to women every chance you can."

"Yeah, and so I know what kind of guys are out there. Where is she?"

Sam checked the location of her phone and sighed, "A local university."

Dean shook his head, "You know what that means. Come on," he said, grabbing his keys off the table and heading to the car.

In record speed Sam and Dean were pulling up to the university. It took some coaxing and palm greasing of the students but they got the location of the party, which just so happened to be the only one going on. When Dean opened the door there was a group of young adults sitting in a circle on the floor passing around a bong. They all looked up simultaneously at the Winchester brothers, all appearing too high to really care.

"Hey," Dean said, walking into the room, "Any of you guys seen a small blood girl," he held his hand up to approximate her height, "About this tall, about as big around as a tooth pick. Green eyes, probably a bad attitude."

"Yeah," one of the college girls nodded, "She was here, super drunk couldn't hold herself up."

Dean gave his brother an 'I told you so' look and turned back to the girl, "Do you know where she went?"

"Yeah, she's getting lucky in one of the rooms with… Wait, isn't she in there with you?" the obviously high girl asked, "If it's not you then it's like your identical twin," she smiled at him, "I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous."

Dean crinkled his brow but didn't ask any more questions as he started throwing open doors until he found the right one and he and Sam had to kick it in.

Imogen was slouched in the corner, passed out with blood dribbling out of her nose. Dean saw Shifter-Dean standing over his sister with a hand around her throat. He met his own familiar eyes when Shifter-Dean turned to see the brothers.

Dean didn't hesitate before he had tackled the shifter, "I thought we killed you," the real Dean growled, letting his fist collide with Shifter-Dean's face.

"Not me," the monster smiled, not even seeming phased by the blows that were being inflicted on him, "You got my Daddy."

"Yeah? Thought you guys were loners," the real Dean scoffed, pulling his gun out of the waistband of his pants and stuck it against the shifter's head, "What'd you do to my sister?" he growled.

Shifter-Dean smiled, "Anything I wanted. She especially liked the way I was dressed."

"Why do you son's-of-bitches keep dressing up like me, huh?"

"It's that ass," Shifter-Dean joked, "Just so firm we can't help but to want it."

Slowly the real Dean shook his head, "Buddy, this ass is the last one you're ever going to see," he said before putting a silver bullet in the shifters head and one through his heart for good measure before getting off the body that looked just like himself and wiping the blood from his face.

After Dean tucked the gun back into his waistband he knelt next to his brother who was checking over Imogen, who was still knocked out.

"Is she okay?" Dean asked.

"I think so," Sam sighed, "I think he gave her roofies or something. I can't get her to wake up, but she's breathing."

Dean nodded and pulled his sister into his arms, picking her up off the ground. Her eyes opened and she caught sight of Dean and started to scream in terror, flailing her body, trying to get away from him. Before she could completely fall Dean sat her back on the ground.

"Em! Em!" he said, keeping his hands on her shoulders to keep her from hurting herself, "Imogen, it's me. That was a shape shifter," he pointed to the dead body, "I'm me, I'm Dean."

Imogen caught sight of the dead body of her brother in the corner and she let out another scream. Dean found himself clapping a hand over her mouth to silence her. If the gunshots hadn't alerted anyone he damn sure didn't want screaming to.

"Imogen!" Sam caught his sister's eyes, "It's us, want us to prove it?"

Looking a little more trusting once she saw that Sam was also there, Imogen nodded.

"Fine," Dean stated, "Give me your knife."

Slowly Imogen reached into her pocket and pulled out her silver knife before handing it over to Dean and watching him cut himself, Sam doing the same, each without any burning from the silver.

"Convinced?" Dean asked, laying his free hand over his cut to contain the bleeding.

"Okay," she breathed before throwing her arms around her oldest brother and started sobbing into his shoulder.

Dean hesitated slightly before wrapping his own around the girl and gently stroking her hair, "Hey, it's okay," he whispered, "I've got you. I'd never lay a hand on you."

Sam looked at his siblings, "Look, I don't want to rush you guys. But we need to get the hell out of here before we get arrested."

Dean nodded, "Imogen, can you walk?"

"I think so," the girl said, letting go of her brother and letting him help her to her feet.

Sam walked over to the window and opened it, "Glad we are on the ground floor," he said as he climbed out, and reached his hand out to help Imogen out.

"Wait," the girl stopped to look at the dead shifter on the ground, "Shouldn't we do something about your dead body, Dean?"

Dean shook his head and urged his sister out the window, "Won't be the first time the state buried me," he said, climbing out the window and ushering his siblings across the campus and into the Impala. He squealed out of the parking lot and back to the motel.

"We are grabbing our shit and getting out of town, right?" Imogen asked as they pulled into the motel, "I mean, I don't even wanna know if there's a mommy or sister shifter."

Dean nodded and looked to Sam, "Sammy, why don't you go get our stuff?"

Sam started to argue, but relented and got out of the car. Imogen started to follow, but Dean stopped her.

"Hey, Em, I think we need to talk."

Imogen sighed and looked down at her feet, she hated serious talks.

"You know I would never lay a hand on you, right? I mean, you piss me the hell off but I'd never hit you."

"I know, Dean," she sighed, "I know that was just the shifter."

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked, "Then how come you won't look at me?"

She took a deep breath, "Dean, please don't push this. I just… I know you wouldn't hurt me, but the images of your hands choking me," she swallowed hard, "He was just so angry. He said his plan was originally to make me the mother of his child, then come find me when I gave birth, kill me and take the baby to keep his bloodline going."

Dean bit his lip and looked passed his sister, "He didn't, did he?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, he couldn't," she said, trying to push what the monster had said out of her head, now wasn't the time for that.

"Em," he took a deep breath, "I'm so sorry. For everything. I'm sorry that you can't count on me, that I ditched you."

"I know you were just doing what you thought was best, Dean."

Dean frowned, "Yeah, what was best for me. Not what was best for you. Sammy and I shouldn't have taken off like we did. I swear to you, that's never going to happen again."

"I'm sorry for telling you that I hated you," she paused, "I don't hate you Dean, I love you."

"I love you too, Em," he sighed, "Can you please stop being so angry with me all the time? I miss when we were buddies."

"You saved my life, I think I owe you."

Dean shook his head, "You don't owe me anything. But I would really like your friendship."

"Well," she smiled, finally meeting his eyes, "Then you got it."

"Can I just ask one more thing?" he pleaded almost desperately.

"What?" she asked skeptically.

"Can you stop running off with random guys? Especially without telling me and Sam. Kid, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"I don't know, are you gonna stop hooking up with random girls?"

"Touché kid, just be a little smarter about it. Guys are creeps."

'You got it, bucko," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Awesome," he smiled and turned back to face the front of the car, both siting in silence until Sam came back out with their bags, "You get everything?"

"I think so," Sam stated, setting the bags in the back and getting comfortable in the seat, "Looks like you're gonna miss Mardi Gras."

Dean shook his head, pulling out of the parking lot, "Every damn year I miss it," he mumbled as he sped down the road to nowhere in particular.

"We'll have to try again next year," Sam said, stretching out his legs.

Imogen lay her head against the glass. Her head was still foggy from the drugs and the alcohol so she easily fell asleep.

The next couple of weeks were filled with seedy motel rooms, badly cooked diner food, and Imogen trying to hide the fact that she couldn't quit throwing up. At first she passed it off as the flu. In fact, she even convinced herself that she had the flu, having forced herself to forget what the shifter had told her about why he wouldn't be able to impregnate her.

There seemed to be no cases, they couldn't catch wind of anything at all, which was highly unusual for them. They even rang up Bobby and he had nothing for them. They thought about heading back to see him, but Imogen let them know that she wasn't ready for that. She didn't want to be back in the same town as Nick and accidentally run into him.

"Let's go to the ocean," Imogen stated one morning when they were all pretty cranky after being cooped up in the same motel for three stormy days, "Fine a nice place on the beach to stretch out and get a tan or something."

"Em, it's like fifty degrees outside. You really think you can get a tan?" Sam asked.

"Let's go to California. Los Angeles. It's always sunny and seventy-five there, right?"

Dean shrugged, "Sounds good to me," he looked to Sam, "What do you think?"

"Okay," he agreed, "It's like a two day drive."

"Eh, we can make it in one if we drive straight through," Imogen said, "There's three of us, so I don't see why not," she said, stuffing her clothes back into her bag and carrying it to the Impala.

Next thing they knew they were all on the beach. Sam and Dean opted for plastic chairs, but Imogen had brought a towel that she lay in the sand. She had been wearing one of her brother's flannel shirts as a bathing suit cover, but she took that off to reveal her bikini as she lay down on her towel to absorb the warm sun, she stuck her headphones in her ears and removed herself from the real world for a while.

After quite some time of sitting uncomfortably Dean turned to his brother, "Who the hell bought her that bathing suit?" he asked, "I sure the hell didn't."

"Well, I didn't either!" Sam barked, "Should we like sit in front of her or something so no one looks at her?"

"I don't know!" Dean exclaimed quietly, "Should we make her put a shirt or something on?"

Sam frowned, "She'll throw a damn fit if we do that. And we're just now getting her to stop being so moody all the time."

"Well, I'm not exactly okay with knowing my sister is a woman! And I don't exactly want other guys knowing it either!"

Sam took a deep breath, "Okay, we need to calm down… I need a beer."

Dean nodded and pulled two out of the cooler handing one to his brother and cracking open one for himself, "Jesus Christ, what the hell are we doing with a teenager? What the hell was her mother thinking putting us in charge of her?"

Slowly Sam shook his head, "Hell if I know," he took a long drink from his beer.

An older gentleman walked by, not even trying to hide the fact that he was checking out Imogen.

"Hey!" Dean barked, getting to his feet, "She's sixteen. You wanna go to jail, buddy?"

The man gave Dean a scathing look but didn't say anything as he walked away.

Sam and Dean traded glances as Imogen flipped from her stomach to her back, her eyes still closed and absorbing the sun.

"I'm very uncomfortable," Dean stated shortly.

"Yeah, so am I," Sam said with trembling hands as he took another drink.

"Okay," Dean barked, "That's it," he got up from his chair.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked curiously.

Dean picked up the discarded flannel shirt and dropped it down on his sister before yanking her earbuds out.

"What the hell?" Imogen asked, sitting up and keeping the shirt pulled against her, "What's the matter with you?"

"The matter with me?" Dean asked, "What about you? Put some damn clothes on, Sam and I don't wanna see everything you got."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Then go somewhere else."

"Are you serious? You have any idea how many people have walked by and basically slobbered all over you? If Sam and I hadn't been here…"

Imogen looked at Sam, "How many people?"

Sam frowned, "Just the one, but still he looked like a creep."

Imogen looked back at her brother, "I don't see you telling any of the other ladies out here to cover up."

"No one else out here is my sixteen year old sister."

With a roll of her eyes Imogen pulled the shirt back on, "As far as you know," she mumbled as she slowly got to her feet and picked up her towel and slipped on her sandals, "I'm going back to the motel, you guys enjoy the beach," she said in a huff as she walked off.

Imogen was glad for the excuse to get off the beach though, she was burning up and starting to feel ill. Once she was completely out of view of her brothers she found a nice trash can and vomited into it. She'd looked this up online, this was morning sickness. The shifter hadn't been lying several weeks ago when he had told her she was pregnant.

The young girl didn't know much about pregnancy at all just the basics that she could read online. What she did know with absolute certainty was if Dean found out about this she was completely and totally fucked.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Finally the trio was able to dig up a case, literally. They were at the cemetery at three in the morning digging up some bones to get ready to burn them. While relaxing on the beach Dean had overheard some kids talking about a local ghost, Sam did a little research, and here they were.

Once the coffin was uncovered and cracked open Imogen's stomach did a back flip and she stumbled a few feet away from them, holding onto a gravestone to keep herself up right as she bent over and emptied the contents of her stomach on someone else's eternal resting place. She could hear Dean laughing.

"What's a matter, sweetheart?" he asked, dumping the salt into the grave as Sam emptied a can of gasoline, "Since when do you have a weak stomach? You've been digging up graves with us since before you hit double digits."

Imogen glared at Dean, but went back to holding her hair out of her face and throwing up. She didn't notice the concerned looks that she was getting from Sam. In an instant the grave was ablaze and Sam walked over to help his sister up and he gently rubbed her back.

"You okay?" he asked.

Imogen wiped her mouth and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just something about the smell," she muttered as they walked back to the car together.

"Just don't throw up in the car again, okay?" Dean asked, pulling open the driver's side door and climbing inside.

"No problem-o," Imogen mumbled, getting into the back and Sam got into the front, still studying his sister.

"We going back to the motel?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded, "Yep. Catch a couple hours sleep and then go find another job. Something's bound to turn up eventually?"

Sam nodded in agreement, "Yeah, something."

They pulled up to the motel and they all got out of the car and started to head to the room when Sam hesitated.

"Hey," the tallest Winchester spoke up, "I'm kinda hungry. Either of you want anything?"

Dean nodded, "I could go for a burger."

"Great, great," Sam smiled awkwardly, clapping his hands together, "Dean, why don't you get settled and me and Imogen can go out and get some food."

Dean shrugged and tossed his brother the keys, "Sounds good to me."

Imogen let out a loud groan, "I don't want to go," she whined.

"Come on Em," Sam pleaded, almost desperately, "You're always hanging out with Dean. You never spend any time with me anymore."

Both Dean and Imogen narrowed their eyes at Sam, realizing that something was off with him.

"Fine," Imogen relented, heading back to the Impala.

Dean took another look at both of his siblings, "Take care of my baby, Sammy."

Sam smiled uncomfortably, opening the door to the car, "I always do," he said before getting in and quickly pulling away with his sister in the car.

"What's the matter with you?" Imogen asked.

"What?" Sam fidgeted, keeping his eyes on the road and hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel, "N-nothing."

The teen girl rolled her eyes, "Okay, Winchester. I can read you like an open book- what's on your mind?"

Sam took a deep breath, held it in for a couple of seconds before letting it out, and finally spoke, "Em, I have something I need to ask you. Something I really don't want to ask you."

"Oh God," she said, "Please tell me we aren't plotting against Dean again."

"No," Sam slowly pulled the car over onto the side of the road and looked at his sister, "Imogen, uh," he swallowed hard, "Is there… Is there a possibility you might be pregnant?"

Imogen's eyes widened. How the hell did he know? She had done her best to cover up her sickness, how could he have any idea?

"What?" she screeched, "Why would you even ask me something like that?"

Sam took a deep breath, trying to stay calm when all he really wanted to do was rip his hair out and drive the Impala off a cliff, "Em," he took another breath, "When you and Nick… You know… Did he use a condom or were you on the pill?"

"The pill?" Imogen asked, her face scrunching up in confusion, "What's the pill?"

Sam looked upwards, sighing softly, "It's like a pill that girls can take that will keep them from getting pregnant. Why the hell were you having sex when you don't know this stuff?"

"Seriously? How the hell can you guys expect me to know this stuff if you've never told me about it?" she barked at her older brother.

"Okay, okay," Sam nodded slowly, "So did he use a condom?"

Imogen frowned and looked away from her brother, "I don't want to talk about Nick with you, Sam."

"Well, too bad. I'm not giving you a choice."

"What do you mean I don't have a choice? Are you gonna beat the information out of me?" she challenged.

"No, but if you don't tell me then I'll talk to Dean about it."

That got Imogen's attention. Dean was the last person that she wanted to know about this, "Sam, why are you asking me this?"

"Because, I think you're pregnant. And if you are then that's something we need to know."

"What the hell makes you think I'm pregnant?" she demanded.

"Well, first off you've been throwing up every day for a couple of weeks now. And on a more personal note you haven't needed to buy any feminine hygiene products… Em, if you're not having your period then that means you're pregnant."

Imogen shook her head, "No it doesn't, I hardly ever had my period when I was living with Bobby. I only had it like once or twice in the time you guys ditched me there."

Sam took a deep breath, "Imogen, please… Tell me that Nick used a condom."

Imogen met her brother's eyes, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't form the words that would disappoint her older brother.

Slowly Sam nodded, "Imogen, why? I know you aren't stupid. Why didn't you make him wear one?"

"I don't know," she let out a breath, "It just didn't occur to me."

Sam slowly blinked, "So you are pregnant? Do you know for sure?"

She shrugged, "I mean I haven't seen a doctor or anything, but I've got good reason to think I might be."

"Okay," he took a breath, "We're going to go get you a pregnancy test from the pharmacy."

She nodded in agreement and Sam pulled the Impala back onto the street and the two road in silence. A few minutes later they pulled up to the store.

"Can I wait in the car?" she asked.

Sam shook his head, "Nope. You're going in with me. You'll have to take the test in the store, don't want Dean accidentally finding the box or something," he said as he got out of the car and put his arm around his sister as they walked inside together.

Quickly they located the wall with the pregnancy tests. Sam picked one up and read the box, "Do you know how to use it?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the box.

Imogen shook her head, "No, Sam. I've never used one before."

The large man sighed but nodded, opening the box and holding out the little stick and ripping open the package it was in, "You pee on this end," he told her, "Then put the cap on it and bring it to me, okay?"

"How do you know so much about pregnancy tests?" she asked him.

Sam took a deep breath, "Well, when Jess and I first got together we had a little drunken slip. She thought she was pregnant, she wasn't but after that incident I kind of educated myself."

Imogen nodded and took the test from him and went to find the bathroom while Sam went up to the counter to pay for the purchase. He walked back out to the Impala and leaned against the front of the car to wait. A few minutes later he saw his sister thorough the window with the stick clenched tightly in her hand. She looked almost relieved when she found Sam outside.

"So what's it say?" Sam asked.

"No idea," she said, handing it over to him.

Sam studied the test for a moment before confirming what he had already figured out, "Imogen," he shook his head slowly.

Imogen looked down at her feet, "I'm sorry, Sam."

"Me too," he ran his free hand through his hair, "My baby sister is having a baby. How the hell is that even possible?"

"Do you hate me?" she whispered, still not looking up.

"What?" Sam asked, furrowing his brow before putting a hand under Imogen's chin and lifting it up so she would look him in the eye, "Of course I don't hate you. Why would you say something like that?"

"I let you down," she explained, "You and Dean and Bobby," she bit her lip, trying not to cry, "I messed up, Sammy. I messed up and I don't know how to fix it."

Sam set the pregnancy test on the hood of the Impala and wrapped both of his arms around his sister, pressing her face into his chest, "Kid, I don't hate you. Don't ever think something like that."

She nodded, keeping her face buried in his flannel, letting it absorb the few tears that did manage to leak out.

Slowly Sam relaxed his grip on his sister and looked her in the eyes once again, "How come you didn't say anything before now?"

"I was scared, and I didn't want to believe it was true," she admitted, "Really scared that when you or Dean found out… I just didn't want to let you guys down again. I want to please you both so badly and I just keep messing up."

"Em," Sam said, clapping a hand down on her shoulder, "Dean and I are always going to be proud of you. You're smart as hell and you've got more talent for the family business than hunters much older than you."

Imogen nodded slowly, "Thank you Sammy."

"So, how did you know?" he asked, "Just like symptoms?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, that shifter told me. The one we took down in Louisiana. He said he could smell it on me."

"You've known for that long and you didn't say anything?"

Imogen pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and middle finger, "Sam," she let out a breath, "I was hoping that he was just messing with me."

Sam took a deep breath, he had absolutely no idea what he was doing, "So like… Do you know what you want to do?"

"Not tell Dean," she stated, "Dean can't know. He would kill me."

Sam shot her a warning glance, "Em, there's no way that we can't tell Dean. If we don't tell him he's just going to figure it out and then he'll be doubly pissed that we were hiding it from him."

"I know!" Imogen groaned, "Please, Sammy… Please just don't tell him."

"He's going to find out Imogen! You'll start to show eventually and then what? Are we just gonna tell him you ate too many burgers?"

"I don't know!" Imogen screamed at her brother, "I can't have a baby! I'm only sixteen!"

"Well, Imogen do you want to get an abortion?" Sam asked, doing his best to remain calm, "Because that and birth are your only two options. I mean, getting rid of it is the absolute only way that we could hide this from Dean, and even then I still think he's bound to find out."

Slowly Imogen shook her head, "No," she swallowed hard, "I don't think I could-" she silently finished that thought, "Sammy, I don't know what to do. I know…. I know that when Dean finds out he'll just want to dump me again."

"No he won't, Em. I won't let that happen again. We're family, and we are going to stick together."

"Well, it's not like I can exactly fight once I've got a huge stomach and can barely walk."

Sam chuckled a little, "I can see it now, we'll be digging up a grave and your water will break."

Imogen glared at her brother.

"Sorry," he said guiltily, "Not a time for jokes," he cleared his throat, "Imogen, no matter what Dean's going to be pissed. It won't matter if he finds out tonight or when you give birth, he's going to react very badly. And if we wait to tell him… You know as well as I do that it is going to be worse."

"I know," Imogen breathed, "I just can't go back to Bobby's."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because, I can't live in the same town as Nick. I don't even want him to know, and it's a small town. We're bound to run into each other."

"Shouldn't he know though?" Sam asked, "I mean, it's his baby too."

Imogen shook her head, "No, he made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I don't want him shackled to me by a baby."

"So when do you want to tell Dean?" Sam asked.

"At the last possible minute."

"So what, when you go into labor you want me to break the news to him?" he quipped.

She liked that idea, "Hey, it's not like he can yell and scream at someone who's giving birth."

"Yeah, I'll be the one he yells and screams at. How the hell is that fair?"

"Hey!" she barked at him, "This is your fault."

The look of confusion on Sam's face was almost comical, "How the hell is it my fault?"

"Because! If you and Dean hadn't ditched me at Bobby's I never would have met Nick."

Sam took a deep breath, "Imogen, please… Please let's not hide this," he pressed his hands together almost like he was going to pray, "I'm begging you here."

"We have to, Sam. You don't understand. Please, just for a little while… Just until I start to show."

Sam chewed the inside of his cheek, but ultimately agreed, "Fine," he stated, "Just for a couple more weeks. And you're not hunting, understand?"

"How are we gonna explain that to our brother?"

Sam sighed, "I'll think of something. But I'm not letting you get hurt, not when you're carrying the next Winchester generation."

Imogen half smiled, "Thank you, Sam," she said, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him.

Sam gently patted her on the back, "So I guess this makes me an uncle."

Imogen looked up at her brother, "I guess it makes me a mother."

Her brother nodded in agreement.

"I don't know anything about being a mother… I can't ever remember my mother."

Sam nodded, "Join the club," he said, getting into the Impala and waiting for Imogen to join him on the other side.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

"What the hell are you talking about you wanna take a break from hunting?" Dean barked at his sister, "We don't exactly take breaks. We find something and we kill it, in between is when we take breaks or whatever."

Imogen sighed, thinking of a lie that would appease her brother was turning out to be harder than she thought, "Well, sorry. I'm just not really feeling it. Look, I'll still do research or whatever, I just don't want to be involved in the actual hunting part of it for a while."

Dean frowned, "You begged me and Sammy to let you hunt for years and now you're saying that you want time off?"

The young girl nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

Dean slowly turned his head to look at his brother, "Are you hearing this?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah."

"And you're okay with this? It doesn't seem weird to you?"

Sam bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head, "N-no," he stuttered, "I mean, no weirder than usual."

Imogen crinkled her face in annoyance, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Dean couldn't help but chuckle, "What, Em? You're weird."

"You're weird," Imogen scoffed.

"Yeah, but not as weird as you."

"That's totally unfair. You only think I'm the weird one because both you and Sam are guys and I'm a girl."

Dean nodded, "You're probably right about that."

Imogen shook her head, "You're an idiot, Dean."

"What?" he asked, surprised, "Sam was the one who called you weird first. Why am I the idiot?"

"Because you're the oldest," she stated, sitting down in a chair and kicking her feet up on the table, "And you didn't graduate from high school."

"Well, Em you never even went to school. I've at least got a GED. So who's the real idiot here?" Dean joked, grabbing a beer from the ice chest and popping it open, "Want one?" he asked his siblings.

A little too soon Sam spoke, "Imogen can't drink!" he almost yelled.

Dean looked at his brother, "Okay, Sammy. Calm down. It's just a beer."

Sam hoped his brother couldn't see the panic on his face, "Yeah, well she's sixteen. Do you wanna go to jail?"

With a roll of his eyes Dean lay back on the bed, "Sorry, damn. What crawled up your ass?"

Imogen and Sam exchanged worried glances but no one else said anything about it.

The Winchester clan spent the next several months travelling. Imogen would dig them up a case and while they were investigating and hunting they would leave her in the motel or occasionally she would hang out in the car. She never physically accompanied them on a hunt, unless they were digging up a body. That was the only thing that Sam would let her help with.

Not hunting was hard for Imogen. It was hard for her to let her brothers go out there and possibly get killed night after night when she knew that she should be helping. The old feeling of helplessness she would get when she was younger and wasn't allowed to hunt with them creeped back over her. She couldn't sleep when the boys were on a hunt, she would just sit up and wait no matter how long it took her brothers.

For the most part Imogen's morning sickness had slacked off. Certain smells would still trigger it, but she wasn't throwing up all the time anymore. She still hadn't seen a doctor or anything but Sam had bought her a bottle of prenatal vitamins and tore off the label so that Dean wouldn't stumble across them and figure it out.

One morning she was awoken to Sam covering her with a blanket that she had kicked off in the night when she had gotten too hot.

"What are you doing?" she muttered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Covering you up," Sam grunted softly, looking over his shoulder to check for Dean, "Your shirt is really tight."

Imogen yawned, "Did Dean see?" she was a little worried, knowing that her baby was growing and she was starting to show.

Sam sleepily shook his head and pushed his hair out of his face, "No, I don't think so," he paused, "Imogen, we can't hide this anymore. We have to tell him."

"No," she stated softly, "Not yet, Sam… Please, I'll do it soon. Just not yet."

Sam sighed and threw his hands up in the air, going back to his bed to sit down and pull on his boots. Imogen rummaged around in her bag for clothes to change into. She pulled out a pair of jeans and the biggest t-shirt that she owned.

Dean came out of the bathroom smiling, "Oh good, you two are awake. I was starting to think you were going to sleep all day."

"Nope," Imogen said with a shake of her head as she grabbed her clothes and stood up, heading for the bathroom, "I did however think I was gonna piss myself waiting for you to get out of the bathroom," she stated, shutting the door and locking it.

She really did need to pee, this whole pregnancy thing was taking its toll on her small body and she needed to pee what felt like every five minutes. Before she got dressed she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and got the tangles out of her long, blonde hair before typing it up into a pony tail.

Imogen stripped off the clothes that she had slept in and turned sideways to look at herself in the mirror. Slowly she let a hand run over her stomach. What had once been flat and tight from the strenuous hunting was now softer and sticking out farther than ever.

"Shit," she whispered to herself. It was getting obvious now, how the hell could she keep hiding this? She pulled her shirt over her head and realized that it was fitting her just a little too tight and she quietly cursed again. The worst came when she pulled on her jeans and couldn't get them buttoned. She tried everything, she even laid on the ground to try and still nothing. She was screwed.

She jumped when there was a loud banging on the door.

"You gonna spend all day in there, Em?" Dean asked.

"N-no!" she stuttered out, breathing heavily.

"Everything okay?" he brother asked, "Sammy and I wanna go get some breakfast. You coming or what?"

No. Nothing was okay, she was hiding the fact that she was pregnant, "I-I just… I have diarrhea," she blurted out, hoping that would drive her brother's attention somewhere else.

There was a long silence, "Oh," he finally said, "Do you want some Pepto-Bismol?"

"No!" she barked, "You and Sam go get some breakfast. I'll just rest here."

"Okay," Dean hesitated, "Want us to bring you back something?"

She was going to turn him down, but suddenly her stomach was growling and she was starving, "Yes please!"

"Okay, just stay in the room and keep the doors locked. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Imogen waited until she heard the motel room door close before she walked out into the room. She made sure to lock the knob and chain the door so that no one could come in unless they broke the door. The room was pretty stuffy so she did open the window that was next to the door to let some air flow through.

Then she grabbed Sam's clothes bag and took one of his shirts out, he might be a little irritated but she could deal with that a lot easier than Dean seeing that she was pregnant. She took off her own shirt and pulled his on, and a pair of her own basketball shorts before she lay down on one of the beds and turned the television on.

She must have fallen asleep because she woke to loud cursing coming from Dean who couldn't get the door unchained.

"Hang on," Imogen grumbled, pushing herself off the bed and walking over to the door, forcing it shut, and unchaining it so her brothers could get inside.

Dean looked his sister up and down for so long that Imogen was momentarily worried that Sam might have said something, "What the hell are you wearing?" he asked.

"Is that my shirt?" Sam added.

"Yeah, sorry," Imogen shrugged, "Your shirts are big and roomy and I wasn't feeling great."

"Feel any better?" Dean asked.

Imogen nodded, "Yes. And I'm starving. Please tell me you brought me food."

Sam handed her a bag and she nearly ripped it out of his hands and sat back on Dean's bed before pulling a burrito out of the bag and devouring it.

"Damn," Dean said, looking almost impressed, "You were hungry."

"You betcha," she said, her mouth full.

Sam sat on his own bed and pulled out his phone and spent a few minutes looked at it, "Bobby emailed me a news article."

"Who knew that guy could use a computer?" Dean asked with a smirk, "What's up?"

"Apparently some parents are dying up in Maine. First the fathers, then the mothers, then the kids are just disappearing. It's really weird."

"That is weird," Dean said, sitting next to his sister.

"Sounds like Changelings," the female Winchester said, shoving the rest of her burrito in her mouth.

"Well," Dean patted her leg, "I think you're right. If we leave now we can get to Maine day after tomorrow. So you two get packed up and I'm going on a supply run. Either of you need anything?"

"Chocolate!" Imogen stated, "And tacos."

Dean raised an eyebrow at his sister, "I don't understand you females."

Imogen shrugged, "Don't judge me."

Dean laughed and headed out the door. Sam waited until the door was shut and Dean had enough time to get out of hearing range before he spoke up.

"Imogen, we can't hide this anymore. I'm serious. We are telling him today."

"No! Sam! We can't. We can hide it a little longer."

"Oh my god. You can't be this blind, Em. You're wearing my clothes, I can only assume it's because yours don't fit anymore."

"I can buy bigger clothes!" she exclaimed, "It's not a big deal. We can hide this, I know we can."

"Dammit Imogen!" Sam actually raised his voice, "You're pregnant. Dean's going to figure it out, and he's going to be pissed we didn't tell him. Besides, you need to see a doctor or something."

"I know I'm pregnant Sam! Believe it or not I can feel this baby fucking growing every goddamn day! It's painful and I feel like shit all the time. But you know what will be even more painful than growing the baby? The look on Dean's face when he finds out that I'm pregnant!"

"Imogen, I know you're scared. Hell, I'm scared too."

The young girl shook her head, "No, don't do that Sam."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't pretend to know how I feel. You have no idea," she tried to remain firm but her voice cracked, "You don't know what it's like to be sixteen with no idea about anything and wind up pregnant. I don't know how to take care of a baby, I've never changed a diaper or even held a baby. I don't even know anyone who's ever had a baby! Sam, I'm terrified. This baby is going to come out of me and I barely even know how that works," she angrily wiped the tears from her eyes.

Sam looked at his sister. She looked so small and scared. He wanted to just pull her into a hug and rub her hair like he used to do when she was a little girl, but that was a long time ago and instead of moving to comfort her he stayed where he was.

"Em," he took a deep breath, "You're right. I don't know how you feel. I really don't, but I want to help you, but we can't do it in secret anymore. Please, I'm begging you. Let's tell Dean."

Imogen bit her lip, terror filling her at just the thought, "No, Sam. I can't. He can't know. He'll be too mad. He'll literally kill me."

Dean had left the room and went to his car because he was going to go on a supply run before the gang could hit the road, but when he got down to the car he remembered that Sam had driven them back from breakfast and he had the keys so he made his way back up the stairs and was about to walk into the room when he realized that the window to their motel room was open and he hesitated, hearing his siblings speaking in such serious tones. Dean heard every last word.

Both Imogen and Sam were too involved in their conversation to hear the doorknob of their room turning and opening. But once it was open they were both on their feet

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed, moving himself so he was standing in front of Imogen. Sam wasn't sure how much his brother had heard and didn't think Dean would attack her, but if he needed someone to take out his anger on Sam wasn't going to let it be Imogen, "I thought you were going on a supply run."

The confusion and anger showed on Dean's face and there was a long, uncomfortable silence before he spoke, "You have the keys," his voice was cold and even.

"Ha!" Sam fidgeted, reaching into his pocket and getting the keys out before tossing them to his brother, but missing and they hit the wall instead, "S-sorry," he stuttered.

"So," Dean's voice was calm, "What were you two talking about?"

Imogen got to her feet, moving to stand next to Sam, "Nothing!" she said excitedly, "We weren't talking about anything."

Sam looked at his sister and gently pulled her behind him, "Em," he said, warningly.

"What the hell do you think I'm gonna do, Sam? She's my sister, you really think I'm gonna hurt her?"

Sam shook his head, "No, I know you won't. Just want to make sure if you go for me she doesn't get hurt in the crossfire."

Dean pursed his lips and folded his arms over his chest, "And why would I go for you?" he asked, shaking his head slowly.

Imogen stayed behind Sam, but leaned her head so she could see Dean, "H-how much did you hear?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"I don't know," Dean stated, "Why don't you just tell me?"

Imogen hid behind Sam, gripping his shirt and hiding her face.

"Jesus Christ, Em," Dean said, "I can't believe that you're this scared of me. I've never hurt you before."

Sam sighed, "Dean, she's terrified that you're gonna dump her somewhere."

"Thanks Sam," Dean said, angrily, "I really don't need your help. Why don't you go get supplies and let me talk to my sister?"

Sam's eyes widened and he shook his head, "There's no way in hell I'm leaving the two of you alone together."

Dean met his brother's eyes, narrowing his own, "I wasn't asking."

"Good for you," Sam countered, "I'm not leaving."

"Wow, you know… I knew you two were hiding something from me. With all the whispering and sneaking around you were doing, but I didn't push it. I figured that you'd tell me if it was really important, but I had no clue it was something this big."

Imogen slowly sank down onto the bed and her head fell in her hands, "I'm so sorry, Dean," she choked out, She hated it that she could be so collected and strong when it came to dealing with monsters and strangers, but with her brothers she had no control over her emotions, "I just… I didn't want to disappoint you. I've already done so much of that."

Sam sat next to his sister and put an arm around her, gently rubbing her arm to comfort her, "Hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay. He knows now, we don't have to keep hiding it."

Imogen slowly nodded and looked at Sam, "I'm sorry, Sammy."

Dean looked from Imogen back to Sam, "Seriously. Let me talk to her."

Sam sighed and looked to Imogen, "You want me to stay?"

"It's okay," she whispered, "I'll be okay."

"Okay," Sam said with a nod, going to pick up the keys from where he had tossed them, "I'll be back in twenty minutes," he said, walking out the open door and closing it.

Dean sat on the bed across from Imogen, "You lied to me," he stated, looking her in the eye.

Imogen tried to look away, but she couldn't, "I know, Dean… I'm so sorry. I was scared."

The older Winchester took a deep breath, "Why weren't you just honest when I asked you?"

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes, "When did you ask me?"

"That night," Dean said, feeling a little confused, "When you told me that the shape shifter that was dressed up as me wanted to plant his seed or whatever. You told me he didn't."

"Because he didn't," she paused, realizing that her brother was mistaken, "Dean, this isn't the shifters baby."

"What?" he said, "What are you talking about?"

"The shifter didn't impregnate me because I was already pregnant… Dean, this is Nick's baby."

All the color seemed to drain from Dean's face and he ran a hand through his hair, "Oh my god," he took a deep breath, "Are you sure?"

Imogen's face crinkled in annoyance, "Of course I'm sure. What the fuck kind of question is that?"

"Sorry, sorry," he breathed, letting his hands grip his thighs, "Okay, this isn't that big of a deal. We can take care of this."

"What do you mean?"

"There's gotta be a clinic or something around here that deals with things like this," he pulled his phone out and started Googling.

Imogen pulled the phone from his hand, "You're not saying what I think you're saying, right?"

Dean looked at her, "I'm saying that we'll take you to a doctor and we'll get that thing out of you."

"Uh, Dean it's nowhere near time for my baby to come out. It's got a little while left to cook."

He shook his head, "You're out of your damn mind if you think I'm letting you have a baby."

The girls mouth fell open, "You're joking, right?"

Dean shook his head.

"This," Imogen stated, shaking her head, "This is why I was afraid to tell you. I knew you would do something like this. Well, Dean you can fuck off. I'm having this baby and you can't stop me."

Dean scoffed, "Imogen, you don't know anything about being a mother."

"I'll learn," she growled at him.

"Oh yeah? And who the hell is gonna pay for diapers and food and clothes? Because I'm not doing it."

"It's not like it's your money anyways, Winchester. All your credit cards are stolen."

"That's not the point. The point is you're not having a baby."

"Yeah, I am. Whether you like it or not. I'll figure out how to take care of it," she spat at him as she stood up and headed for the door, "With or without your help," she slammed the door with her on the outside of it and stomped down the stairs, sitting on a bench and waiting for Sam to get back.

Upon pulling into the parking lot Sam immediately spotted his sister. He parked the car and walked over to sit next to her.

"How'd it go?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulder.

Imogen took a deep breath, "He says I have to go to some clinic to get an abortion."

"Em, no one can legally force you to get an abortion," Sam let out a sigh, "But you do need to see a doctor. We can go to the clinic and the doctor can check you out and let us know if the baby is healthy and what our options are."

Imogen frowned, "I'm having this baby, Sam."

Sam nodded, "I know you are, and Dean will come around. I promise you. I'm not going to let him force you into something you don't want to do," he looked at his sister, "I've got your back."

"Thank you," she breathed out, "And I'm so sorry for making you lie for me all this time."

Sam shook his head, "Don't mention it… I'm just glad the lie is over and we can move on."

"I love you, Sam."

"You better," he chuckled, "Come on, let's go take on the wrath of Dean together," he said, standing up and helping his sister up.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Imogen roughly jerked her arm away from Dean as he tried to pull her into the clinic with him

"I can fucking walk," she muttered under her breath, casting a sidelong glance to Sam, hoping to have him on her side. He gave her a half smile and then looked away.

"My bad," Dean said, rolling his eyes and walking ahead of her to the reception area.

A short, stout woman wearing blue polka dot scrubs stood up, smiling at him, "How can I help today, sir?"

Dean smiled back at the woman, "Hey'a sweetheart. I need to get my baby sister checked out by a doctor."

Sam walked over to stand at Dean's side while Imogen sat in one of the chairs and refused to look at anyone.

"Does she need birth control?" the woman asked, sweetly.

Dean laughed and shook his head, "No, we are way passed that."

Sam let out a sigh, "She's pregnant."

"Oh!" the woman squeaked, picking up a clipboard and attaching some forms to it and grabbing a pen, handing it all to Sam, "I'll need these filled out. Are one of you a parent or legal guardian?"

"Yeah, we are her legal guardians," Sam fidgeted, looking down at the paperwork

"Okay," the woman smiled, "Just fill those out and bring them back to me when you're done. We'll get her taken care of."

Sam nodded and walked over to his sister, taking the seat next to her.

Dean smiled again at the woman, "So," he looked at her nametag, "Maggie, don't suppose you guys have any coffee?" he said, green eyes shining.

Maggie blushed a deep shade of red, "Oh, I can get you some," she gently bit her lip, "We have some in the break room."

"Thanks sugar," he winked at her.

She scurried off to find the coffee and Dean walked over to his siblings.

"Really, Dean?" Imogen barked, "Flirting with the receptionist?"

Dean shrugged, "She's cute and I need coffee."

"You had like six cups back at the motel," Sam grumbled, looking at the paperwork, "Em, when was your last menstrual cycle?"

Dean made a face, "Really, Sam?"

Imogen scoffed, "You're the one who made me come here and you're getting grossed out hearing about my period?" she slowly took the clipboard from her brother, "I'll fill it out, Sammy," she started filling out the questions, "Guess you're not going back into the exam room with me."

"I damn sure am," Dean stated, "I gotta hear this from the doctor first hand."

"I'm not getting an abortion," she muttered, finishing filling out the paperwork.

"We'll see about that," Dean stated, leaning up against the wall.

Sam shot his brother a look, "Dean, back off."

Dean scoffed, "You can't seriously think her having a baby is a good idea Sammy. I mean, come on!"

Sam took a deep breath, "I think that she's pregnant, it's already happened. So it's not up to you or me to tell her what to do with her body."

"Thank you, Sam," Imogen smiled, standing up to take the clipboard back to the receptionist who had come back into the room to give Dean his coffee.

"Here, I filled these out," she smiled, annoyed at the receptionist.

The woman took the clipboard from her and turned to give Dean the coffee, "Here," she said, eagerly awaiting his approval.

Dean took the small, Styrofoam cup from her and took a sip, "Thanks, sweetheart," he winked at her again, watching as she scurried back to her desk, and sat down in the chair next to Sam. Imogen took her seat on the other side of Sam, folding her arms over her chest.

"Em," Dean turned to his sister, taking another sip from his coffee, "Come on, you have to know that I'm looking out for you."

"Looking out for me?" Imogen scoffed, "That's rich."

"I am!" he barked softly, "I'm trying to take care of you. You're not ready for this."

She glared at her oldest brother, "How the hell would you know?" she bit, keeping her voice down, "You have no idea what this is like," she stated.

"What?" Dean asked, "Being pregnant? You're right. I have no idea," he almost laughed, but somehow managed not to.

Imogen took a deep breath, they were the only people in the waiting room and she didn't want to make a scene for the staff, "No, Dean. You don't know what it's like to feel a baby move around inside of you," her hand went to rest on her rounded stomach, "To absolutely fall in love with someone you've never met," she whispered loudly, "Terrified that your brother, who you love more than anyone, could find out at any moment and rip it away from you."

Dean felt a chill go through his body, but he didn't speak.

Imogen shook her head, "You don't get it," she took a deep breath, "And you never will I guess. But I'm not gonna waste my breath trying to explain it to you anymore," she turned her body so that she was facing away from both of her brothers.

Dean looked to Sam, mouthing something unintelligible before sighing and looking down at his coffee. Sam gently patted his brother on his back and then let his own hands lay in his lap.

Not long after the trio fell silent the doctor walked into the room, "Imogen Clampton?" he called out.

Slowly Imogen got to her feet and headed over to the doctor with both of her brothers in tow. Clampton was the surname they had used in fake guardianship papers that Sam and Dean had forged, so that was the last name they used when Imogen needed parental consent for anything.

The doctor extended his hand as Imogen approached, "I'm Dr. Wood. I'm going to be taking care of you," he looked at the two large men behind her.

"These are my brother's," she muttered.

As Dr. Wood shook both of their hands they introduced themselves, "Are you both accompanying your sister into the exam room?"

Both Sam and Dean nodded.

"Yay for family bonding," Imogen rolled her eyes as the doctor led them all to an exam room.

"Okay, Imogen. I'm going to need you to change into this gown, leave it open in the front" he pulled out a paper gown and handed it to her, "I'm going to step out and let you get changed. When I come back we will do the exam."

Imogen nodded and watched the doctor walk out of the room, then looked at her brothers, "Do you two mind?" she asked, motioning to the door.

Sam and Dean awkwardly stumbled out of the room together, both standing next to the door and waiting to be granted access.

Slowly Imogen stripped out of her clothes and pulled the gown on and sat on the table. It was cold on her bottom, which was covered just by her panties, "Okay," she called to the door, "I'm decent-ish."

A few moments later Sam and Dean walked in together and both avoided looking at their barely clothed sister.

Imogen rolled her eyes and leaned back on the table. She still had her bra on too, so the boys weren't going to get too much of an eyeful of anything. She sat back up when the doctor came into the room.

"Hi there," he smiled, looking over his chart and sitting down, "So, hun how far along are you?"

Imogen shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure. This is the first time I've seen a doctor."

"Okay, well do you have a guess?" he asked, fumbling around with the sonogram equipment.

"Well," she thought about it for a minute, "Four, maybe five months."

The doctor nodded, "Okay, could you lean back on the bed for me?"

Imogen did as he said and he opened up her gown and squirted some of the gel on her belly, sticking the ultrasound wand against her and staring at the screen where the profile of a baby appeared.

"There we go," Dr. Wood said, smiling, "You see that right there, that's your baby," he said, pointing out different parts of the baby and saying what they were.

"Wow," Imogen breathed deeply, "How does the baby look?" she asked, "Does the baby look okay?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes ma'am. From what I can tell it's perfectly healthy," he did a little more looking before taking the wand away from her belly, "You look to be about seventeen weeks along."

Dean frowned, "Weeks? What the hell does that mean?"

The doctor looked to Dean, "Well, that would mean she's almost halfway there. Most women are pregnant for about forty weeks."

"Okay, so what are our options?" Dean asked.

Dr. Wood looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Dean," Sam growled, "Stop."

"What?" Dean barked, "I just wanna know what we can do about this."

The doctor sighed, "Well, if you're talking about termination what would basically happen is we would give your sister drugs to induce labor and she would have to give birth now."

Imogen shook her head, "We're not doing that."

Slowly Dean nodded, staring at the frozen picture of the fetus on the screen, "No," he swallowed, "No we aren't."

Imogen looked at her brother, unbelieving that he had just said those words, her mouth hung open.

Dean met his sister's eye, "Looks like I'm gonna be an uncle, huh?"

Forgetting the fact that she was half naked and her stomach was covered in gel she hopped off of the table and gave her brother a hug. He gently patted her back.

"I love you, Dean."

"Yeah, I love you too kid. Please don't hug me when you're this close to naked ever again."

Then Imogen blushed and pulled away from him to go back to the exam table, "Can you tell us if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Well," he looked back at the screen, "I couldn't get a good shot, since baby's legs are crossed. But I'm pretty sure that it's a girl."

Imogen smiled. A girl. A little girl.

Dr. Wood spent the next half hour explaining the importance of prenatal care and the changes that were going to be happening to her body over the next several months. It was a lot to take in, but the doctor also gave her a book for her to read and then they were all back in the Impala together. The doctor had given Imogen some print outs of the baby and she immediately tucked them inside the book he had given her. Next time they stopped she would tuck them in with the rest of her few photos.

"So," Imogen leaned up on the seat to be level with her brothers who were sitting in the front, "Changelings in Maine. We better step on it if we are doing this."

Dean looked back at his sister, "Really?" he asked, "Hunting?"

"Well," she shrugged, I mean, I'm not gonna get in the middle of everything. But this is y'alls job. I'm along for the ride, ya' know… Like old times."

Dean let out a sigh and looked to Sam who also shrugged so Dean just started up the Impala and began to drive. Later that night Dean pulled over at a gas station. Both Imogen and Sam were knocked out, but Dean gently shook his brother awake and motioned for him to follow him out of the car.

Slowly Sam stretched and got out of the car, following Dean across the parking lot.

"What's up?" the younger, Winchester male yawned.

"You knew," he stated, "You knew she was pregnant and you said nothing."

Sam sighed, running a hand though his hair, "She begged me not to. She wanted to tell you when she was ready."

"She's a kid, Sam. She doesn't know what's best for her."

"Yeah, I get that," Sam agreed, "But she was scared and she knew that you were going to make her feel bad about it. She was trying to figure out what she was going to do, so that when you did inevitably find out she would have a plan."

Dean slowly shook his head, "Sammy, you still should have told me. I would have told you."

"Well, see that's the difference. She wouldn't have been too afraid to tell me."

"That's not fair, Sam. I never hurt that girl."

"No, but she's so damn scared of letting you down. Dean, she may not act like it but she cares so much about what you think. She wants to make you proud."

Dean shook his head, "Well, getting pregnant at fifteen really isn't the right way to go about that."

"Oh my God… Dean, this is exactly it. You're so damn hard on her, making it impossible for her to tell you anything."

"So you really don't see anything wrong with you two hiding this from me?"

"No, of course we shouldn't have hid it from you-"

Dean cut him off, "Why the hell did she tell you and not me?"

Sam sighed, "Well, she didn't exactly tell me. I kinda figured it out and asked her. She tried to deny it but…" he trailed off.

Dean slowly let out a breath, "I just… I wish she trusted me, the way she does you."

Sam clapped his hand down on his brother's shoulder, "Then you gotta stop treating her like a toddler."

"Yeah, but-" he shook his head, "That's all I can see when I look at her. That tiny little girl."

Sam slowly nodded, "I know what you mean," he sighed, "Our baby is having a baby."

"A little girl too," Dean chuckled, "We are gonna be uncles. Uncle Dean," he smiled, "I like the sound of that."

Sam slowly nodded, "Uncle Sam," he paused, "Geeze that sounds way too patriotic."

"Come on, Uncle Sammy," he pushed his brother, "Let's gas and go."

"We should wake Em up. If not she'll wake up ten minutes after we get on the road and need to pee."

Dean nodded, "Good call, brother."

 **A/N: Sorry for the update delay! Hope y'all love it!**


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

The Winchester trio travelled. They stayed in scummy motels, ate food they got from gas stations, slept countless nights in the car, hustled pool, spent god knows how many hours poring over books and news articles, they tracked, and the boys hunted.

It worked as well as it could. There were still arguments and the occasionally nastiness thrown around when someone was overtired or sore, but all in all it was a simple few months. Imogen really hated the fact that she couldn't hunt, but she wasn't going to fight that. She knew that she couldn't, not while she was pregnant anyways. Once the baby came out she would want to hunt again, but until then she was on the bench and she accepted that.

Almost overnight it seemed that Imogen was ballooning, or the baby inside her rather. She grew so big that she occasionally needed help in and out of the car. It was embarrassing going from a girl who didn't need help with anything to one who couldn't hardly move on her own. In addition to that she didn't sleep well and ate just about everything in sight, the whole morning sickness had passed and now she was constantly hungry.

One particular hunt around the end of Imogen's sixth month of pregnancy stuck out in her mind above all else. First off the case was just plain weird. People were turning up missing in Slayton, Minnesota and were reappearing a week later with no memory of anything. Which wouldn't have been that weird except it was dozens of people all with the same exact story. So they drove there to investigate and when they came up with nothing they called up Bobby. Lucky for them they were only a little over an hour from Bobby and he made the trip out to see them and help investigate.

"So, Bobby's on his way out here," Sam stated to his siblings a few days after the three of them got into down, "It shouldn't take him too long. Sioux Falls is like barely an hour away."

Dean nodded, "Good, haven't seen him in months."

Imogen nodded along with them. It had been a long time since they had seen the old drunk, and Imogen had been avoiding him after everything that had gone down the day she had left his home. After what Dean had told her she didn't want to cause him any more problems than she already had.

"Uh," Imogen scratched her head, taking a sip from the bottle of water that Sam had handed her a few minutes earlier, "Have y'all been keeping up with Bobby the last few months?" she asked, looking down at the bottle in her hands.

Dean shrugged, "No more than usual."

"So," she paused, swallowing, "Neither of you have talked to him about me?"

"No Em, most of the time he calls to give us a case or whatever," Sam stated, "Everything okay?"

Imogen nodded, "No, yeah. It's fine… It's just, I haven't really talked to him either so if you guys haven't mentioned I was pregnant to him then he might not know."

Sam and Dean exchanged troubled glances.

"Fuck," Imogen whispered, "He's gonna be so pissed."

Dean groaned, "How the hell did we forget to tell him?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't know," he paused, "We could put Em up in a motel room, tell Bobby she's off at boarding school or something."

Imogen nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! I like that idea."

Dean scoffed, "Yeah, despite the fact that Bobby's not an idiot and wouldn't believe that for a second Sam told him on the phone that you were with us."

"Oh," Sam ran a hand though his hair, "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"

Dean nodded, "Look, he's gonna tear all three of us a new one but it's better late than never. Besides, it's not like we can be roaming the country with a newborn baby in tow."

"Wait," Imogen paused, "You guys were planning to leave me at Bobby's after I gave birth?"

"Is that what I said?" Dean locked eyes with his sister, "No, I figured we could all take some time off after you blow. Sam and I will work local cases or whatever, but do you really think you'll be wanting to sleep somewhere else every night after you give birth?"

"Well," Imogen grumbled, "No, probably not."

"And do you know anyone well enough that you would wanna stay with them?" Dean asked.

Imogen shook her head, "No, I guess not," she let out a sigh, "Okay, you make a good point. But Dean, he's going to be so hurt that we didn't tell him. Can you guys maybe tell him before I see him?"

Dean shook his head, "Nope, we're all gonna tell him together," he paused, "Or hell, better yet just let him see for himself once he gets here."

Sam nodded, "Dean's right, Em."

"I know," she grumbled, throwing herself back on Sam's bed, "I hate it when you're right."

Dean chuckled, "Yeah, I know," he winked at his sister, "Must suck that it happens all the time."

"I'm exhausted," Imogen whined, turning on her side and hugging one of Sam's pillows, "I couldn't get comfortable on the couch."

"Are you kidding me?" Dean asked, "You've slept on way crappier couches before. That one looks like luxury."

"Yeah, well that was before I had a watermelon strapped to my waist."

Dean shook his head, "Well, whose fault is that?"

"Bite me, Winchester," Imogen groaned and flipped over so she was facing Sam instead of Dean, "You're brother's an ass."

Sam gently rubbed his sister's head, "Yeah, well I can't take all the credit. He's your brother too," he teased.

Then Imogen heard her phone ringing but before she had time to roll over and grab it off the table Dean had already picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?" Dean asked the device.

"Don't answer my phone!" the girl screeched, struggling to get into a sitting position which Sam helped her do.

Dean moved the device away from his ear so he could see the screen and study the number before putting it back to his ear, "Hello?" he repeated.

Imogen reached her hand out to try and take the phone from Dean but he dodged her.

"They hung up," Dean said, tossing the phone back to his sister.

"Yeah, well they weren't calling you. They were calling me."

"What, you got another secret boyfriend or something?" Dean asked.

"When have I ever had a secret boyfriend?" Imogen asked, "Nick wasn't secret. If you had bothered to call me I would have told you."

Dean sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Ah well, that's ancient history. Who the hell would be calling you besides me or Sam?"

"My sugar daddy," Imogen stated dryly, as she opened the call log on her phone and checked the number. She knew that number by heart. She had called that number so many times before, but she had taken it out of her contacts list seven months ago. Since then she hadn't sent or received any calls or texts from it.

"You're not funny," Sam said, unknowing what was going through his sister's mind.

"I'm a little funny," Imogen muttered, not taking her eyes off the number on her screen.

This was Nick's number. Nick was calling her. She hadn't heard anything from him since the day they broke up and now he was calling her. Imogen couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. She wanted to call him back right then and there but she couldn't, her brothers would be suspicious if she did.

"It's probably just a telemarketer or something," she mumbled, sliding her phone in her pocket as her heart raced in her chest

Neither Sam nor Dean thought anything more about this.

"I've gotta pee," she announced to her brothers.

"You've always gotta pee," Dean replied, "What do you want me to do about it?"

Imogen reached her hand out to her brother, "Help me up."

Dean sighed but obliged, "Yes Princess-chester."

Imogen couldn't help but to laugh, "You haven't called me that in years."

Dean pulled his sister up off the bed and gently pushed her towards the bathroom, "Go pee, your majesty."

Slowly Imogen made her way into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Now, while she really did need to pee what she had actually wanted was privacy. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked down at it. There was a little icon on her screen letting her know that Nick had left her a voicemail. She opened it up and pressed it to her ear.

"Hey Imogen," his recorded voice came across the line slow and heavy, "Please, give me a call when you can," he coughed twice before continuing, "If you want."

Then the message ended and Imogen was left shaking. Did she want to call him back? Yes, yes she absolutely did want to call him back but she couldn't right now. Not with her brothers just on the other side of this door, so she texted him instead.

"Hey, can't talk right now. Is everything okay?" she sent him the message before putting her phone back in her pocket and leaving the rest room.

The siblings spent the time they were waiting for Bobby to show up digging into the case. It's not like they hadn't been before, but they had come up with nothing so they were all hoping to come across something they had missed.

Imogen was sat cross legged on Sam's bet with her back up against the wall and her computer on her lap when a pain rippled through her abdomen. She grunted and a hand rested on her stomach, "Woah," she breathed when the pain was gone, "What the hell was that?"

Dean had been laying on his stomach across his own bed, flipping through the pages of police reports he had gotten from the station, but looked up when he heard his sister's discomfort, "Everything okay, Em?"

Imogen frowned, running her hand along her stomach, "I don't know," she admitted as another pain hit her, "Ow," she grimaced.

Dean sat bolt right up and Sam leaned over to his sister.

"Are you in labor?" Sam asked, panicked.

Imogen looked to her brother, "I don't know. I've never been in labor before," another pain hit and she winced, "I can't be. I'm not due for like three months."

Dean stood up and grabbed his keys, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The hospital," Dean replied, "There's no way in hell we are taking a chance of this baby being born in a motel room."

"Yeah," Sam said, getting to his feet, "I'm gonna have to side with Dean here," he looked to his brother, "Let's get her up," Dean took one of her arms and Sam took the other and they helped her up off of the bed and out the door and into the car.

"Guys, I'm sure I'm fine," but then another pain hit her, worse than the ones before, "Okay, maybe you're right."

Lucky for them the hospital wasn't very far away. Dean parked the car and before anyone could say anything he was running inside the hospital and coming back with a wheel chair. He helped his sister into the chair and started to wheel her inside.

"Sammy," Dean barked, worry in his voice, "Call Bobby and tell him to meet us here."

Sam nodded and pulled out his phone to make the call.

Imogen had her hands resting on her stomach, "Guess Bobby can't be too mad if he walks in on me giving birth."

"Oh you'd be surprised at just what Bobby can get mad at," Dean caught the look of panic on his sister's face and shook his head, "Bobby will be fine, don't worry about it," he wheeled his sister up to the front desk, "I think my sister is in labor," he told the nurse, "It's like nowhere near time for her to give birth. She's still got a couple of months."

The nurse looked boringly at the two of them, "Okay," she sighed, standing up and walking over to take control of the chair, "We'll get her looked at," she stared to push the chair to the back.

"Wait," Dean stopped them, "Can't I go with?"

The woman sighed once again, "We will call you back there once we get her set up. Until then please wait in the waiting room," she handed him a clip board, "And fill these out."

Dean watched helplessly as they took his baby sister into the back. He wanted nothing more than to follow, but Imogen was already under enough stress, Dean didn't need to add to it by making a scene so he took a seat and started to fill out the paperwork.

A few minutes later Sam and Bobby were hurrying inside. Bobby spotted Dean immediately and was at his side.

"What's going on?" Bobby barked, pulling Dean to his feet, "Was she abducted? Why the hell didn't you have your eyes on her? I swear to god if you used her as bait," Bobby had his hand gripped tightly on Dean's shoulder.

"Woah, woah, Bobby! Calm down!" Dean barked, "She wasn't abducted or hurt on a hunt or whatever you're thinking," he glanced to Sam and then back to Bobby, "Look, there's something we haven't told you-" he was going to go on to explain the whole situation but just then Imogen and the nurse were walking back out and over to them.

Imogen froze when she saw Bobby, but the nurse pushed her forward, "She's fine, it was just Braxton-Hick's contractions. False labor, just the body getting ready to deliver the baby."

Bobby, who'd had his back to Imogen while the nurse was talking, whipped around quickly when he heard the word 'baby' and took in the sight of the obviously pregnant teenager.

"Thank you," Dean choked out, standing by his sister's side and putting an arm around her, "Let's go back to the motel," he said to Bobby, "We'll talk there."

Bobby nodded and marched out ahead of them and got into his car.

Dean sighed and walked with his arm around his sister out to the Impala, "Hey, Sammy. Why don't you ride with Bobby?"

Sam frowned but nodded, joining the older man at his car and getting in with him.

Dean opened up the door for Imogen and shut it when she got inside before walking back over to his side of the car and climbing in. He started it up and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back for the motel.

"Em, look," he sighed, "I know I haven't exactly been the biggest supporter of you-"

Imogen cut him off, "No, Dean. Don't say that. You have always been my BIGGEST supporter. No matter how shitty I've been or what I've done, you've always taken care of me, or at least made sure that I was taken care of. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me."

Dean couldn't help but to smile a little, glancing from the road and back to his sister, "Yeah, well it was my job."

"No," the girl shook her head, "You could have turned me over to social services of found me a home somewhere. But instead you took care of me."

"Promised your mom, and besides, you don't have to thank me for that. We're family, we're blood."

Imogen sighed, "It's more than that, though. I mean, you took care of Sammy but you grew up taking care of him. I was just some random kid you picked up when you were still hunting the thing that killed your mom. I must have gotten in the way."

Dean chuckled, "Oh, yeah. You totally did. But you were my responsibility. One that I willingly accepted, you were cute. You're right, I could have found you a great family with no problem. But you were MY sister. So don't you think for a second that you're a burden, because you're not. Okay?"

Imogen smiled and nodded, "Okay, thank you Dean. I love you."

"I love you too," he pulled up to the motel, "Now come on. We've gotta explain this to Bobby," he motioned to her belly, "This is gonna be fun."

"Oh so much," the girl rolled her eyes and got out of the car. Right now, more than anything she wished that they had told Bobby months ago. He would have reacted badly then too, but now that they had hidden it, his reaction was going to be a lot worse.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

"So what," Bobby roared to the group of siblings who were all sitting along the same bed, looking at their feet as Bobby paced the room, "Neither of you idjits thought to pick up a phone and mention to me that your sister was having a baby?"

"Look, Bobby," Sam began, "It's just been chaos. Hell, Dean didn't even know until recently."

"But you knew, Sam? You knew and you didn't tell your brother? What the hell is the matter with you? This whole hiding thing from each other, it never works. NEVER."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Dean nodded his head.

"Oh, Dean. We aren't on the same side right now. I'm just as pissed at you as I am at Sam. Someone should have told me."

"I know!" Dean sighed, "You're right, Sammy and I messed up. You have every right to be pissed off at us."

"Woah, woah, woah," Imogen started to get to her feet and needed the help of her brothers to get there, "Why are you pissed at them, Bobby? I'm the one who's pregnant, you should be pissed at me."

Bobby stood there silently making eye contact with the teen.

"This is on me, Bobby. I'm the one who should have told you."

"Well, who woulda thunk it?" he grumbled, "Here I was thinking Dean was the pregnant one."

Imogen sighed, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Yes, Sam knew, but we were both hiding it from Dean. I guess I didn't tell you because I didn't want Dean to find out. But then Dean did find out and it was kind of just a big commotion."

"Who's the father?" Bobby asked.

Imogen looked at the man for a moment before answering, "You know who the father is, Bobby. Come on."

"Nick?" Bobby asked, "Nick's the father."

"Of course he is. You think after my brothers basically caught me in the act they were going to leave me along long enough for it to happen again?"

Bobby sighed and scratched his head, "I ran into Nick last week at the grocery store, he didn't mention anything about this."

"That's because he doesn't know," Imogen told him, "I didn't tell him. He made it really clear the last time I saw him that things were over between us."

Bobby took a deep breath and let it out, "Look, Em. I just wish you would have told me."

"I know, and I'm sorry that I didn't. It's just been a really confusing time."

Slowly Bobby's gaze drifted from Imogen to Dean, "And you're okay with all of this?"

Sam let out an obnoxiously loud laugh, "Are you kidding me? His reaction was ten times worse than yours."

A short laugh escaped the old man, "Yeah I bet it was," he slowly sat in one of the chairs, "I tell you what, next time I see that Nick kid I'm gonna punch him in the wiener," he growled

A smile tugged at Imogen's lips, "Bobby, I really am so-"

Bobby cut her off, "That's enough apologizing. I guess I kind of understand," he sighed, "What the hell are you guys gonna do?"

Dean shrugged, "Hunt. That's all we know how to do."

Slowly Bobby shook his head, "You mean to tell me that you're going to take a baby with you on the road?"

"Well, no," Sam said, scratching his stubbly chin, "Of course not."

Imogen frowned and looked at her brothers, "What?"

"Well, come on Em, we talked about this earlier" Dean took over, "That's ridiculous to think you can still hunt when you've got a kid."

"Our dad did it. Sam was what, six months old?" she argued, "You guys did it with me!"

"Em, that was a little bit different. You weren't a babt, and we didn't have any other options. You really wanna raise your kid to be a hunter?" Dean asked, "After everything you know, you wanna do that to your kid?"

"Well," Imogen glared at her brother, "What's the alternative? Sit on my ass the rest of my life and pretend like monsters aren't killing innocent people? I don't fucking think so."

"Imogen," Sam stood up, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Be reasonable. You couldn't have thought that you were gonna leave the delivery room with a baby in one hand and a gun in the other."

"As a matter of fact, I did!" She barked at them, "I can't believe this. After everything you said to me in the car," she looked at Dean, "After everything you were planning on just up and leaving me again."

Dean shot to his feet and locked eyes with his sister, "No! Imogen that's not the case. We aren't leaving you. But we can't travel around with a newborn!"

"This is bullshit!" the girl yelled, "Where the fuck were you going to dump me this time? I mean hell, it's not like Bobby was gonna take me! You're the one who told me I was nothing but a fucking nuisance to him the last time!"

"Woah, nuisance?" Bobby asked, looking from Imogen to Dean, "You told her I said she was a nuisance?"

Dean sighed, looking up at the ceiling, "Look, I was willing to tell her anything to get her to agree to come back on the road with us. I knew she never would unless I made up some kind of lie about you wanting her gone."

Imogen paused, slowly meeting Dean's eye, "You lied to me?" she asked.

Slowly Dean nodded, "Yes."

"Bobby never said I was a burden?"

The older Winchester shook his head, "No, he didn't. As a matter of fact he didn't want you to leave."

Imogen turned to look at Bobby, "Is that true?"

Bobby nodded, "I wanted you to stay. I love you like my own, but I thought you wanted to go. I didn't know until just a second ago what Dean had said to you."

Finally Imogen looked to Sam, "Did you know about this?"

Sam started to deny it, but he knew that his sister would see right through him, "Yes, Em. I knew. But I also knew that we needed you back with us. I didn't like it, but you would have stayed."

"So I've been thinking all these months that the one time in my life where I've felt safe and happy that I was nothing but a burden?" she shook her head, "Well fuck both of you," she turned on her heel and started to walk out the door of the motel.

Bobby hesitated before going after her, "Hey, kid. I'll get another room, you can chill out for a while in there, okay?"

Imogen met his eyes and all she wanted to do was cry, but she wouldn't. She didn't want to be weak, "Thank you Bobby," she walked with him into the lobby where he handed off one of his fake credit cards and got them a room. They walked to it together.

"You know," the old man yawned, "It's late and I'm pretty tired. You look like you could use some sleep too."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, I could."

He handed her the key to the motel room, "I'll go tell the guys you and I are turning in for the night and grab your stuff. You can shower first if you want. We'll deal with the case tomorrow."

Imogen took the key from him and half smiled at him, "Thanks," the two separated and Imogen was glad to have actual privacy once she got into the motel room. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and finally returned the call she had missed earlier that morning.

"Hello?" Nick answered on the third ring.

"Nick," her own voice cracked, "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," she heard him breathing on his end, "Imogen, I have to see you. Please."

Imogen froze. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to say yes, but how the hell could she manage it?

"Are you anywhere near Sioux Falls?" he asked, "Please say yes."

"I'm a little over an hour away," she told him, "I'll have to wait until my people fall asleep, but I'll come see you," she told him, "Maybe you could meet me half way?"

"Of course," he said, sounding relieved, "Just text me an address and I will be there."

"Will do," she told him before hanging up the phone and laying on the bed closest to the door and sighing. How the hell was she going to do this without getting caught?

Bobby came back into the room and it wasn't too long before he was snoring loudly on the other bed. She scribbled a note for the man hanging it on the door, grabbing her bag, and silently making her way out of the room. She crept through the halls, thankful not to run into either one of her brothers, and out of the building.

It was already dark outside and Imogen took survey of the parking lot. She was going to have to steal a car if she wanted to make it to Nick. She needed a nondescript car so that she would have a chance of getting there without being arrested if the car got reported stolen. Then she saw the Impala, it was just sitting there, calling her name, almost as if it wanted her to steal it. And hey, Dean wasn't going to report the car stolen, especially if it was his sister who stole it.

Part of her felt guilty, but another part didn't care. Not after what had gone down between the siblings earlier. So she walked over to the beautiful car and opened the door, lucky for her whoever had last been inside of it had neglected to lock the door. She set her bag in the passenger's seat and reached down to do the necessary hotwiring so she could get the car started.

"Dean's not gonna like fixing that," she said out loud as the engine roared to life. Quickly she put the car in gear and flew out of the parking lot. More than likely Dean hadn't heard the car start, but on the off chance that he had Imogen wasn't going to be waiting around for him if he came outside.

Once she was a safe distance away from the motel she sent Nick the text telling him where to meet her and she drove. She was glad that Dean had filled up the tank just that morning and she wasn't going to have to stop for gas anytime soon, knowing that if she wasn't back by morning that Dean would go to any and every local business and demand to look at their security tapes if he had to.

Imogen wasn't sure how long she was going to be gone. She didn't know why Nick wanted to meet her, and she didn't know how he was going to react when he found out she was pregnant. She tried not to think about it and turned on the radio. She had a long drive ahead of her so she cranked up the tunes and sang obnoxiously loud, something she and Dean would occasionally do together when no one else was around to complain about it.

The young girl pulled the Impala into the parking lot of the Denny's that she had told Nick to meet her at and she checked her phone once she was parked. She had a message from Nick but no one else, she was hopeful that meant no one knew she was gone yet. Once she spotted Nick's Mustang she shut off her cellphone and opened the car door and stood. He did the same and started walking over to her, hurriedly.

Imogen shut the door of the Impala and he was at her side, "Nick," she said, taking his hand once they were close, the light from the restaurant illuminating the two.

"Em," he breathed, pulling her to his chest and holding her tightly, "I thought you weren't coming."

"Well, you thought wrong," she told him.

"I'm glad," the hug broke and he looked her up and down, finally noticing the large swelling in her abdomen, "Jesus Christ," he breathed.

"Nick," she cleared her throat, "Please, don't be mad at me."

"Mad at you?" he asked, taking a slow step back and shaking noticeably, "Why would I be mad at you?"

Imogen lay a hand protectively on her stomach, "Why did you call me here?"

"I missed you," he swallowed hard, "I love you."

"What happened? What changed? I mean last time I saw you, you basically told me to fuck off."

Nick shook his head, avoiding looking at Imogen, "I told you that because I didn't want to go to jail. Hell, I thought if I sent you away that I could get over you. But I think about you every day. I can't quit thinking about you."

"Why are you saying this?" she asked, "Why now? After all these months? I haven't heard a damn thing from you since that day."

"Well, that goes both ways. You haven't called or texted me either."

"Because you didn't want me to! You broke up with me, Nick!"

"No," he sighed, "I know. Imogen," he slowly shook his head looking down at her stomach, "You should have told me."

Imogen looked down at her belly, gently rubbing her hands over it, "It wouldn't have made a difference."

"Yes it would have," he argued, "I would have been there for you. Things would have been different."

"No, I didn't want you like that. I wanted you to want me, not feel forced to be with me."

Slowly he shook his head, "I- uh… I don't know what to say. You're having my baby?" he asked softly, "I can't believe you hid this from me," then he paused to shake his head, "No, I shouldn't be surprised that you hid this from me. You've hidden everything from me since we met."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "This is exactly fucking it, Nick. I miss you, I miss what we had but you're right. I fucked it up because I lied, and I'm sorry… But I'm not going to spend the rest of my life apologizing to you about it."

"No, no of course not," his hands fell to his sides, "You shouldn't. You made a mistake. We all make mistakes," he shook his head and gently lay a hand on each of her shoulders, "Imogen, I asked you here today because I wanted to take you up on your offer."

"What offer?" she asked, turning her head to the side curiously.

"The offer to run away together. We can hide out, I'll work, take care of you and the baby, and when you turn eighteen we won't have to hide anymore."

"Oh Nick," she whispered quietly, but before she could say anything else he was kissing her, pushing her up against the side of the Impala.

"Don't think," he told her, kissing her harder, running his hands through her hair, "Just come with me."

Imogen moaned softly craning her head away from him as he nibbled down her collar bone, "Dammit," she muttered, reaching down to open the door to the backseat of the Impala and pushing him inside of it and crawling in after.

Nick was sitting upright in the seat and pulled Imogen onto him so that she was straddling his lap and he kissed her harder, letting his hands wander her body, exploring her new found curves. He let his hand go up and underneath her shirt so that he was was in direct skin contact with her pregnant belly, "I love you," he muttered in between kisses.

She smiled back at him, "I love you too," she told him as she reached down to undo his pants. He helped get both his own and hers off and the two made a memory on the backseat of the Impala. Once they were done Imogen stayed tucked up underneath his arm pulling just her panties back on. They had both left their shirts on since it was cold.

Nick kept one arm around Imogen and let the other hand lay on her stomach, "Oh, I think I can feel him moving," he smiled.

Imogen nodded, "She's a girl, but yeah. She moves a lot."

"A girl?" Nick asked, "Really?"

Imogen nodded, "The doctor told us."

Nick slowly nodded, not taking his hand off of her belly, "As soon as you turn eighteen I want to marry you," he said, "We'll be a family. We will both finally have a family."

Imogen shifted a little uncomfortably, "Nick," she breathed, "Dean and Sam, they will find us. Look, my brothers aren't just pest control. They are well trained in tracking people down. It might take them a day or it could take them a year but they will find us. I have no doubt about it."

"So we'll keep moving," he said, "Every couple of weeks."

"Come on, man. You don't wanna move around all the time."

"Why not? You do it. I could live with it for three years when you've done it all your life. Once we get married it won't matter. Your brothers won't be able to just take you away."

"No," she sighed, looking out at the sky that was starting to lighten as the sun slowly rose, "I'm not going to do that to you. Because it won't matter how old I am, they will still find us."

"Imogen, are they hurting you? Your brothers? Are they like in the mafia or something?"

The pregnant girl couldn't help but to chuckle, "No, not the mafia or anything like that. They wouldn't ever hurt me, but I can't say the same for you."

He nodded, "No, I know they can and will hurt me. I remember quite well," he looked her straight in the eye, "But I don't care. You're worth it. I will protect you and our daughter, no matter what. I will keep them away from you."

And in that moment Imogen's heart broke. She thought it was already broken, but apparently it can break more than once. She couldn't have this both ways. She couldn't be a hunter and stick by the family business and also be a wife and mother all at the same time. She had to choose between her brothers and Nick, she couldn't have both.

"Nick, it's not your baby."


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

By the time that Bobby woke up and rolled over in his bed Imogen was long gone. If it hadn't been for the fact that the bathroom light was on, illuminating part of the motel room, he might not have realized she wasn't in her bed. But it was and he did. Even Bobby was surprised that he was able to sit up as fast as he did. He quickly checked over the room and was about to run to check the rest of the motel when he found the note she had left him.

" _I'm safe. Will be back ASAP. Don't worry. –Em"_

"Balls!" Bobby growled, ripping the note off of the door and storming out of the room and down the hall where he knew Sam and Dean's room was. He loudly banged on the door, knowing the boys would likely be asleep. When he didn't immediately get an answer he banged even louder.

A boxer-clad Dean angrily ripped the door open, "Bobby!" he groaned, "It's like six in the morning. Someone better be dying."

Bobby pushed past Dean, flipping the light on, and shoving the note at Dean.

Sam was sitting up in the bed, running both his hands through his hair, "What's going on?" the exhausted Winchester asked as Dean was still trying to decipher the note.

"Your sister took off," Bobby stated.

"What?" Sam asked, now fully awake and standing upright.

"Your sister, she took off. I don't know where, I don't know why."

Dean handed the note to Sam, "What the hell, Bobby? You were supposed to be watching her!"

Bobby glared at Dean, "She's not a two-year-old Dean! And how the hell was I supposed to know she was a flight risk?"

Dean shook his head, picking up his jeans off of the ground and pulling them on, "You were sleeping in the same room with her, didn't you hear anything? Did she say anything?"

"Oh yeah," Bobby began sarcastically, "She told me she was going to work the corners, I told her to have a good night and use condoms," he slapped Dean upside the back of his head, "Idjit!"

Dean made a face, pulling his boots on and Sam had his computer up and running.

"You tracking her phone?" Dean asked, looking over his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah," he said, looking at the screen, "Either she turned it off or she went into a dead zone about an hour ago."

"Does it tell you where she was when it went dead?" Bobby asked.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, she's right between here and Sioux Falls," Sam pointed to the screen, "How the hell did she get there?"

Dean shrugged, "Maybe she stole a car or hitchhiked."

"Oh god," Sam groaned, setting his computer on the bed and pulling his own boots on, "I really hope she didn't hitchhike."

Bobby nodded, "Well, get the address from the computer and we'll drive out there."

Sam nodded, "Already ahead of you," he said, plugging it into his phone GPS.

Dean slipped his gun into his pants, "You guys ready to go?" he asked, heading to the door.

Both Bobby and Sam followed Dean out of the door and into the parking lot of the motel.

Dean looked around wildly for the Impala, the parking lot wasn't very big, "Okay, I know I parked the car right here," he stated, "Where the hell is it?" he looked to Sam, "Did you move it?"

Sam put his hands up defensively, "No, I didn't touch the car."

Bobby couldn't help but to chuckle, "Think Imogen took it?"

Dean's face fell, "That little sneak," Dean said, kicking a nearby trash can, leaving an obvious dent in it, "I'm going to kill her."

"Well," Sam sighed, "Silver lining, I've got a low-jack on the Impala. So we'll be able to find her no problem."

"Yeah, and we can take my car," Bobby stated.

"You low-jacked the Impala?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sam shrugged, looking back at his phone and typing something in, pulling up a screen, "Okay, the car is on the move," he said, "Looks like she might be coming back this way. Do you wanna wait here or what?"

Dean took his brother's phone and stared at the screen, "Yeah, I guess," he muttered, "I'm going to kill her."

Sam shook his head, "No you're not. She's already pissed off at us, and hell- she has every right to be."

Dean glared at her brother, "She STOLE my car."

"Yeah, and you beat the hell out of her boyfriend and then lied to her to make you join her on the road," Bobby interrupted, "So I think you can let this one go."

"What?" Dean barked, "You've got to be kidding me."

Bobby shook his head, "Not even a little. Seriously Dean, after everything you've put this girl through you can let her borrow your car."

"Guess that depends on why she was borrowing it," Sam said, earning him a dirty look from Bobby, "What? I'm just saying."

Dean sighed and shook his head, "I'm going back to bed," he grumbled, turning on his heel and going back inside the motel.

"Not my baby?" Nick asked, slowly taking his hand off of her belly, "What do you mean it's not my baby?"

A small sigh escaped Imogen, "I mean, you're not the father," she lied.

"What the hell, Em? Why did you let me think I was?"

"I don't know, Nick… I'm so sorry," she paused, "I guess I just missed you so much and didn't want to hurt you. Hell, I didn't think I was ever going to see you again."

"I don't get it," he looked at her, "What, right after we broke up you slept with someone else? That doesn't sound like you."

Imogen shook her head, "I bet you did the same thing."

"No! I didn't. Imogen, I haven't been with anyone since we broke up."

"Woah," she swallowed hard, "You haven't?"

"Yeah, is that really so hard to believe?" he shook his head, "I mean, hell. I'm having a hard time believing that you slept with someone else."

Imogen let out a breath, "Well," she sighed, "It was like the day after we broke up. I went to a party and got drunk," she lied, "I'm so sorry."

Slowly Nick nodded, "I should go," he whispered, obviously hurt.

Imogen grabbed him gently before he could move, "Please… don't hate me."

He shook his head, "No, I could never hate you."

"Okay," she let go of him, "I really have missed you."

"I missed you too, and I'm glad that I got to see you," he paused, "Maybe I can finally move on."

Imogen swallowed hard and looked down at her feet, "Yeah, I hope you can too. I want you to be happy."

"You too, Imogen," he leaned in and kissed her lips, gently rubbing her belly, "I'm sorry she's not mine."

"Me too," the girl's voice broke, "You know, if you ever need anything you can call me… Right?"

Nick nodded, slowly getting out of the car, "Right back at you, Em."

Imogen waited until he was completely out of the car and in his own, pulling out of the parking lot before she climbed over the seat and re-hotwired the car and headed back to where she knew her brothers were. She knew that she was going to get hell the second she stepped foot back into the motel, but she didn't care. She was glad that she had met with Nick. She had actually chosen her family, she could have gone off with him, but she didn't. She was with them by choice and she knew she had made the right one, no matter how much it hurt.

All the way back to town the baby was kicking and moving wildly, which was really common in the mornings. She was thankful for this because it made staying awake and driving a hell of a lot easier. Dean was already going to be pissed that she stole the car, but if she stole it AND wrecked it he would probably never forgive her.

By the time Imogen made it back to the motel the sun was all the way up and there wasn't a trace of the moon anywhere. She parked the car, untied the wires to shut off the engine, and got out. She expected Dean to be standing there, waiting, but he wasn't. So she walked back inside and to her and Bobby's room. She was glad that she had remembered the key and she let herself in the room, relieved that it was empty, and laid down on the bed. She was absolutely exhausted and passed out within minutes.

The only reason that Dean, Sam, and Bobby knew that Imogen had made it back was because Sam was watching the Impala's GPS. Once he saw she was nearby they were all standing at the window and watching out. It was amazing that Imogen didn't notice them there. But once she was inside her room Dean rushed out and went to examine the car. He opened the door and immediately noticed the loose hanging wires.

"Dammit!" he barked, "She knows where we keep the spare key, why the hell did she have to go and do this?"

Sam chuckled, "Probably to piss you off."

"Well, I don't appreciate it," Dean groaned, getting down and starting to fix it.

Sam just happened to glance into the back of the Impala where he caught sight of a wallet laying on the seat. He opened the back door and pulled it out, "Dean, is this yours?" he asked, opening it up and looking at the driver's license, "Never mind."

Dean finished what he was doing and looked back up, "What? What is it?"

Sam tossed him the wallet, "It's Nick's."

Bobby raised an eyebrow, "What?" he asked, taking the wallet from Dean and looking at it, "Imogen went to see Nick?"

"In MY car!" Dean whined, "I'm going to kill her."

"No, Dean. You're not. We are going to talk to her, and you're going to apologize for lying to her," Sam explained.

"But I'm not sorry, not one bit."

"Well, you should be. She's our sister."

"Yeah, well I'd lie to you to keep you safe."

Sam scoffed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, "And you see where that's gotten us time and time again?"

"So what, you're saying that Imogen is gonna start drinking demon blood too?"

Sam's hands balled tightly into fists, "No, Dean. That's not what I'm saying… I just," he shook his head, "Maybe try to be a little understanding?"

Dean sighed, "Fine, whatever. I'll hear her side of the story."

Sam nodded, "Good, okay. Then let's go."

The three headed inside together.

"I don't see what she was doing with that good for nothin' boy," Bobby muttered, "She said he didn't know she was pregnant."

"Well, he probably does now," Sam said.

"They better not have been messing around inside my car."

"What the hell else would they have been doing in the backseat, Dean?" Sam asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Dean glared at his brother like he was about ready to punch him, "Pregnant people aren't even supposed to have sex, right?"

"I mean, I'm pretty sure that it's safe. I've heard that pregnant women are hornier than non-pregnant ones. Something about the hormones or something," Sam explained.

Noises of disgust came from both Dean and Bobby.

"What?" Sam asked, "It's the truth."

"Yeah, maybe lie to me about this. I don't wanna know about my sister's hormones."

Bobby grimaced as he stuck his key in the door of his and Imogen's motel room and opened it so they could all get inside. Imogen was snoring on the bed but that didn't stop Dean from walking over and shaking her awake.

Slowly she opened her eyes to look at him, "Oh god no," she groaned.

"Sit up," Dean ordered, sitting on the opposite bed, facing her, "We need to have a talk."

"Dean," Imogen groaned, pushing herself into an upright position, "I've had like two minutes of sleep in like two days and I'm pregnant. Can't this wait?"

"NO," Dean said, gruffly, "You steal my car, you answer to me."

"Dean," Sam warned, eyeing his brother.

Dean took a deep breath, "Em, what the hell happened?" his voice a little less angry.

"I needed to get away," she told him, "All my life I've gone exactly where I've been told to go. Done what I've been told to do- more or less any ways. I've never gone anywhere alone," she took a deep breath, "I've never made a decision for myself. Everyone has always made them for me."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, frustrated, "You always do what you want to do."

"No," she shook her head, "You left me at Bobby's, and I stayed. You asked me to come on the road with you, I went. Last night I went to see Nick," she sighed, "He called me, said he needed to see me. We were close so I stole your car and I went."

"Why the hell did you go to see him?" Dean barked, earning him another glare from his brother, "Was he shocked to see you had put on a few pounds?"

"Oh my God, Dean. Shut up and let me talk, okay?" she shook her head, "Of course he was surprised."

"So what happened?" Sam asked, "What did he say?"

Imogen swallowed hard. She wanted to tell her brothers exactly what had happened, she wanted them to know that she had picked them, but she didn't want to take the chance of being out of the family business if they realized she had another option, "He said he didn't want to be a father," she lied.

"Woah," Bobby said, gripping a table to keep himself upright, "Nick said that to you?"

Sam frowned, "What he took one look at you and he was done?"

Imogen shook her head, blushing a little, "No. If you must know when we first saw each other all of those old emotions came back up and we made love."

All the color drained from Sam, Dean, and Bobby's faces. Unknowingly to each other, just the spoken words made all three of them want to vomit. Dean actually gagged.

"In my car?" Dean demanded, "He screwed you in my car and then he kicked you to the curb?"

"Yes, Dean," Imogen rolled her eyes, "After we… did it.. We talked and he told me he wasn't ready to be a father."

"I can't believe you had sex in my car."

"Dean!" Sam barked, "Can we please move on? I really don't want to think about that anymore."

"Yeah," Imogen nodded, "What Sam said."

Bobby scoffed.

"What?" Imogen asked, looking at the old man.

"I'm just having a hard time believing that Nick, the boy who still drives by my house twice a week hoping to see you there, told you he wouldn't help you take care of your baby. Can you explain that to me?" Bobby asked, looking suspiciously at Imogen.

"Look," Imogen took a deep breath trying to come up with a convincing lie, "I love him, I love him a lot, but I'm not going to fight him about this. I told you guys that I didn't want to trap him, and he made his decision. I'm fine with it," she answered stoically.

Sam let out a long and low sigh, "Okay, Em. I guess if you're okay with it."

"I am," she said with a nod, "I planned from the beginning to deal with this baby without his help. Now I can shut the door on Nick and I can stop looking back in time and being pissed at you guys for ruining it," she took a deep breath, "Now I know he would have broken up with me for being pregnant even if you guys hadn't come along and beat the fuck outta him," she teased.

Dean rolled his eyes and stood up, heading for the door, "Oh go to sleep. We're gonna do our job and work this case."

Imogen nodded, laying back down on the bed, "Have fun," she closed her eyes.

Sam, Dean, and Bobby all walked out of the room, locking the door behind them.

"It's over," Dean said, "We can stop worrying about her leaving us," he was almost smiling, "She's ours again."

Sam gave his brother an uneasy look, "You know how creepy that sounded, right?"

Dean glared at his brother, "Shut up, Sam," he barked as he walked back towards his own room and the three went to work solving the case.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

In barely a weeks' time Sam, Dean, and Imogen had made it from Minnesota all the way down to Texas. The hunt in Minnesota was a bust, it was a group of college kids who wanted to scare the public into thinking there was alien abductions. So they found a new case, it was a simple haunting so the group all went together to dig up the grave. Imogen tried to help, but five minutes into the digging she was breathing heavy and sweating profusely.

"Em, maybe you should take a break," Sam suggested, gently taking the shovel from her.

Imogen shook her head, slightly bent over with her hands on her knees and panting like a dog, "No!" she choked out, "I got this."

Dean shook his head, "Seriously, Em. Just watch, you don't need to be doing all this bending."

"I can help."

"We don't need your help," Dean replied, throwing a shovelful of dirt out of the grave, "I mean, we got this. Really."

Imogen wanted to argue some more, but she didn't have the energy so she sat on a nearby headstone and watched her brothers work, letting her hands gently rub her belly, "Hey Sam," she looked at her brother, "Do you remember when I was little and you took me out for ice cream?"

Sam paused and looked at her, "I took you out for ice cream a lot," he replied, going back to digging.

"Well, this was like the first time I remember," she began, "We were at this awesome ice cream shop where they let you put candy and stuff on your ice cream. I accidentally spilled an entire bucket of M&M's all over the floor. The owner of the shop started screaming at me and I started to cry."

Sam smiled a little at the memory, though his back was to Imogen and she couldn't see, "Yeah, I remember that."

"Do you remember slamming him up against the wall, flashing your FBI badge, and threatening to arrest him?"

Dean chuckled, "Sammy, you did that? That doesn't sound like you, naughty boy."

Sam rolled his eyes, shoveling more dirt from the hole, "Well, we ended up getting the ice cream for free. And no one was gonna make my baby sister cry."

Imogen smiled, shifting uncomfortably on the headstone, "That's one of my first memories," she told them, "Of you guys anyways."

"You know," Sam stated, "That was actually the first time you and I hung out together. It was the day after I met you," he explained, throwing dirt over his shoulder.

"So it was the day my mom died?" she asked.

Slowly Sam nodded.

Dean threw the last shovelful of dirt out of the grave before opening the coffin and pulling himself out and helping Sam out as well. He grabbed the container of salt and dumped it on the body while Sam did the same with the gasoline. Dean lit a match and dropped it in the dug grave and then turned to pick up their things while it went up into flames.

"C'mon, let's get back to the motel before someone catches us."

Sam lay a hand on Imogen's back and the two followed Dean back to the car in silence, riding all the way back to the motel in the same way. Once they were back they all went inside.

"Dean," Sam looked at his brother, "I think you deserve first shower."

Dean smiled and nodded, "I think you're right, little brother," he said, grabbing his duffel and going into the bathroom.

Sam sprawled out on his bed, kicking off his shoes, and Imogen did the same on Dean's bed.

"There's something that's been bugging me," Imogen said, laying on her side and facing her brother, "Something that's bugged me for a long time."

Sam plugged his phone into the charger and looked at his sister, "What's that?" he asked.

"Dean went to hell."

Slowly Sam nodded, "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

"Dean went to hell and I didn't see or hear from you at all until he got back."

"Oh Em," he sighed, "I was really messed up at the time. You know that, we talked about that. Ruby was still manipulating me, I was on demon blood. I couldn't have taken care of you."

Slowly Imogen shook her head, "Sam, all I'm hearing is excuses. I was your sister, I needed you then more than ever. You weren't the only one who lost Dean. Hell, I was just a kid. I barely knew what was happening."

"Imogen," he sighed, "I'm sorry. I really am. I should have been there for you."

"You're right. You should have," she shook her head, "You know, when you went to hell Dean didn't let me out of his sight. I was right there with him and Lisa and Ben."

Slowly Sam nodded, "I know," he sighed, "Dean's always done a better job with you than I have."

"That's funny since you were the one who was going to marry Jessica and have a family."

Sam sighed, "What do you want me to say, Imogen? I messed up. My brother died because of me. He sacrificed himself for me."

"I want you to tell me why you chose a demon over your own sister," she stated, "Why Ruby was more important than me?!"

Sam sat up, running a hand through his hair, "She was helping me kill Lilith! If I couldn't have Dean back then I wanted to kill the bitch who took him! Why is that so hard to understand?"

Imogen shot to her feet, "Because! I was your sister and I fucking needed you! Dean was my brother too, and he was dead and I needed you!" she screamed at him.

"This is ancient history, Imogen! Jesus Christ! Why are you bringing all of this up now?"

Upon hearing the uproar Dean jumped out of the shower, tying a towel around his waist, and walking back into the motel room.

"Because you chose a demon over your own sister!" she yelled before she realized Dean was back in the room.

"Woah, woah, woah," Dean said, walking over and putting his hands on his sister's shoulders from behind, "Neutral corners you two," he looked at Imogen, "Don't take it personally kid, Sam chose a demon over me too."

"Not helping, Dean," Sam muttered.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he looked at his sister, "Look, kid. We all make mistakes. Some a lot bigger than others, but at the end of the day we are family. Family is there for you when you make mistakes, so you've gotta forgive Sam. I know I did."

"Fine," she sighed, going back and sitting on Dean's bed, "Now go put on some clothes."

Dean nodded and went back to the bathroom.

"Are we good?" Sam asked, sitting back on his own bed.

Imogen nodded, "Yeah I guess so," she sighed, "I'm sorry for freaking out."

Sam shook his head, "No, I'm glad that you told me how you felt. I want you to talk to me."

"Ah," she scrunched up her face, "Don't get all mushy."

Sam rolled his eyes and laid back on his bed, "I'm going to sleep," he said, covering himself up with the blankets.

Imogen didn't bother to move from Dean's bed and drifted in and out of sleep too, until she heard Dean finally come out of the bathroom and sit on the same bed as her.

"Hey," she said, sleepily rubbing her eyes, "Do you want me to move so you can go to sleep?"

Dean shook his head, drying his hair with the towel, "No, you're fine. I've got to wind down a bit before I can sleep."

Imogen nodded, "Hey, Dean," she hesitated, "Did I see my mom die?"

Dean raised an eyebrow and looked at his little sister, "What? No, of course not."

"How do you know?"

"Em, I've told you the story a million times," but he sighed and relented, "We got to your house and it had been broken into. We found your mom's body in the backyard, and you were asleep in your bed. So Sam took you and got you far away from there while I took care of the mess."

"Okay," she sighed, "I just… I feel like I should have known. Like maybe she screamed or something and I would have woken up."

"You were just a kid," Dean explained, "Imogen, you can't keep blaming yourself for this. Even if you had heard and gone down stairs you couldn't have helped. You would have just died too."

"I know," she nodded, "I just wish I could remember her."

"You were young," Dean said, laying across the bed next to his sister.

Imogen paused, "You know, there's one thing I do kinda remember about her. Like I'm not sure if it was a dream or not. I mean, it feels real, but I dream about it all the time so I don't know."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"I remember her telling me goodbye and that my brothers were going to take care of me. She said that she was going to have to go away and that I needed to listen to you boys," she took a deep breath, this was the first time she had spoken about this to anyone, "I feel like I saw her die, Dean."

Dean gently rubbed his sister's shoulder, "Imogen, I promise you didn't see her die."

"How do you know though?" she pleaded, "How could you know?"

"Because," he looked her directly in the eye, "I'm your big brother. It's my job to know these kinds of things," he took a deep breath, "I'm so sorry that we couldn't save her, Em."

"It's not your fault," she whispered, wincing a little as the baby rolled over painfully in her stomach.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

Imogen nodded, "The baby is just moving," she looked at him, "Wanna feel?"

Quickly Dean shook his head, "No, that's okay."

The teen frowned, "Come on Dean, it's just my stomach. It's not going to bite you."

Looking very uncomfortable Dean shook his head again, "No, I'm okay. Really. Make Sam feel."

"Well, he's asleep, and he feels it all the time. What are you afraid of?" she asked, grabbing his hand and laying it on her stomach.

Dean froze, he really wanted to pull his hand away but he didn't, and the second the baby started moving he was glad that he hadn't, "Holy hell," his smile could barely be contained, "That's a baby? That's so cool."

Imogen smiled and nodded, "That's your niece in there."

Dean didn't take his hand off of her belly, "Yeah," he chuckled softly, "Em, I can't believe this. I can't believe you're having a baby," he paused, "And if you ever tell anyone what I'm about to say I'll kill you… But I can't believe I'm excited about it."

A small smirk tugged at Imogen's lips, "Thank you for saying that," she said softly.

Dean nodded and then moved his hand from her belly, laying on his back and looking up at the ceiling, "What are you gonna name her?"

"I was thinking about naming her after my mom," she said, "Lucy Olivia."

"Yeah, I thought you might do something like that."

"Is that okay?" she asked.

Dean shrugged, "She's your baby," he paused, "Can I ask you something?"'

Imogen shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"What did you like so much about Nick? I mean why him?"

A small groan escaped the girl, "I don't know," she admitted, "He was normal. He wasn't a hunter. It was easy with him. He was funny and sweet and the first non-hunter I've had a chance to be friends with. Hell, he was the first person I ever had the chance to be friends with."

Slowly Dean nodded, "I get that, I guess," He sighed, "I'm sorry I ruined that for you."

"If you hadn't something else would have," she said, "A monster or a demon or something. Winchesters can't have friends."

Dean slowly nodded, "Ain't that the truth," he paused, "Hey, did I ever tell you about the first week Sam and I were taking care of you?"

Imogen raised an eyebrow, "No…"

"Well, it was hell," he laughed, "You were cranky and exhausted, didn't like spending all the time in the car. We thought we were going to kill you."

"Why didn't you?" Imogen asked, "I mean, other than you made a promise to take care of me."

"Well, you had been screaming in the backseat for over an hour. Sam spotted a park so we pulled over and let you out to play. It was the first time you actually seemed happy since we took you from your home. You were running around like crazy, climbing all over everything, laughing and smiling," Dean couldn't help but smile at the memory, "We really were just gonna let you play but you were so cute that we couldn't help but join in."

She looked at him, "You didn't kill me because I looked cute playing in the park? Once I got back in the car did I start screaming again?"

Dean shook his head, "No, Em. We bonded, for the first time. The three of us as a little family. And sure, after that you were still a pain in the ass, but you were our pain in the ass. So every time after that when you made me what to scream and pull my hair out I just remembered how cute you were and how much I loved you."

Imogen chuckled, "You're a jerk."

Dean nodded, "I know."

"Since we're taking a walk down memory lane," Imogen hesitated, "Do you remember when I met Cas for the first time?"

Dean groaned unhappily, "Yes, I remember it well."

"It was the first time I was on the road with you and Sam since you got out of hell. You and Sam had already met him and told me about him, but I hadn't met him yet. You guys left me in the motel so you could hunt. All of a sudden some random guy appears while I'm trying to watch TV."

Dean chuckled and nodded.

"So I pulled out the gun you left me. I emptied an entire clip into the guy and he didn't so much as flinch. Then he starts walking over to me, like he's going to grab me."

"And you stood up on the bed and kicked him square in the face before jumping out of the second story window of the room," Dean added.

"Yep," Imogen nodded, "Great timing because you were pulling into the parking lot right as I was doing that."

Dean nodded, "Oh I know. I nearly wrecked the car because I saw it happen."

"Yeah, but you were pulling me out of that bush in an instant," she smiled.

"I thought you were gonna be dead or something, if it hadn't been for that bush you would have hit the concrete" he told her, "I had no damn clue Cas was going to show up."

"Then Cas appeared by your side and I screamed."

"Yep. I had my fists raised, ready to punch someone. And then I saw him and I realized what happened."

"Yeah, you were gonna kick his ass while holding me upright. I couldn't stand, I was covered in blood from the glass. Pretty sure my leg was broken."

"Well, Cas fixed ya' up," he chuckled, "But we got the hell out of that motel before the police came. I still can't believe you jumped out a second story window."

"What?" she exclaimed, "It was either that or who the hell knows what would have happened?"

"Nothing," Dean stated, "He was looking for me and Sam."

"Yeah, I know that now. But I had no idea who the hell he was. Old man appearing in a room with a young girl. Remember, shoot first ask questions later- you taught me that."

"Yeah, yeah I get it," he smirked a little, closing his eyes, "We better get some sleep," he yawned.

Imogen nodded, laying back on the bed, "I'm too tired to move," she whispered.

Dean groaned and rolled onto his side, away from his sister, "Just go to sleep."

Imogen smiled and rolled onto her side away from Dean, closed her eyes, and fell asleep. 


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

Imogen examined her surroundings as Dean turned the car up a dirt road, eventually pulling off in front of a very run down looking cabin.

"Are we really staying here tonight?" she whined, her hands laying on her very swollen belly.

"Yep," Dean confirmed, shutting off the car and turning to face his sister, "You'll be okay for one night, won't ya'?"

Another loud groan escaped the heavily pregnant teenager, "I guess… But why can't we get a motel?"

"Look, Em. I'm wrecked. I need sleep, this is one of Bobby's safe houses. That last case got me on the police radar again, so we need to lay low for a while."

"So because you and Sam keep breaking the law I have to sleep in a dirty old cabin that probably doesn't have electricity or indoor plumbing?"

Dean nodded with a smile, "Yeah pretty much," he agreed, "Look, we just have to get a few hours of sleep and then we can beat it. Day after tomorrow we'll be back at Bobby's until you blow."

Sam flinched, "Wow, that's a really lovely way of putting that, Dean."

Dean nodded, "Thank you for noticing."

"Fine," Imogen groaned, "Let's go inside. But I swear if there's spiders I'm sleeping in the Impala."

The trio got out of the car, grabbing their bags, and carrying them inside. There was just enough sunlight outside to illuminate the musty cabin. Dean played with a light switch that did absolutely nothing.

"No big deal," Dean stated, "We've got lanterns."

Imogen rolled her eyes and pulled out her cell phone, turning on the flashlight and shining it around, spotting a dusty couch and walking over to it, "Dibs!" she called, starting to knock some of the dust off of it.

Dean just rolled his eyes, setting his bag down on the floor, "Sammy, why don't you go on a supply run? Get us some beer and food."

Imogen nodded, "I'm starving."

Sam sighed, "Dean, the closest place is at least an hour away."

"Well, then you better hurry before they close," Dean said as he tossed Sam the keys to the Impala.

With a roll of his eyes Sam caught the keys and looked to his sister, "Wanna come?" he asked.

Imogen shook her head and lay a blanket down on the old couch, "No thanks, I'm exhausted."

Sam sighed, "Okay. What do you guys want to eat?"

"Pizza," Imogen said, laying back on the couch, "And chocolate."

"You always want chocolate," Dean interjected.

"It's called being pregnant," she propped herself up on her elbow, "Bring back some bottled water, okay? I know you guys only drink beer, but a girl can't live off of beer alone."

Sam chuckled softly, "Okay," he looked down at his phone, "We don't get any cell service up here, so if there's anything else anyone needs you better tell me now."

"Beer and food," Dean stated, "What else could I need? Oh and pie!"

Sam nodded, "Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can," he said strolling out of the dusty cabin and getting into the Impala.

Dean was kicked back at the kitchen table, opening up his laptop and turning it on.

Imogen looked at him, making herself comfortable on the small couch, "We don't have cell service but you're gonna try for the internet up here?"

Dean shook his head, No smart ass. I'm gonna watch a movie."

"Well, I wanna watch," she whined, moving her feet so there would be room on the couch, "Bring it over here."

Dean groaned but stood up and walked the computer over to his sister, taking a seat on the couch and laying the computed on the coffee table so they would both be able to see the screen.

Imogen smiled, "You're the best big brother," she told him before sticking her bare feet in his lap, "Now rub my feet. They're swollen from the long ass car ride."

The older Winchester scoffed and gently smacked her feet, "I'm not rubbing your feet," he chuckled, but didn't make her move them out of his lap.

Imogen didn't even last five minutes into the movie before she was snoring loudly. Dean couldn't help but chuckle at his sleeping sister and watched a little more of the movie. Suddenly the cabin was shaking and the lights that weren't working earlier were now blazing brightly. Dean shut his computer and got up, looking around.

"Squirrel!" a familiar, British voice reached the Winchester's ears and he turned to see Crowley.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean growled, softly as to not wake his sleeping sister.

"What am I doing here?" Crowley asked, looking around the cabin, "I could be asking you the same things. You boys are slumming it again I see," but then his eyes landed on the girl on the couch, "Who's she?" Crowley asked.

Dean followed Crowley's eyes to his sister, and he moved to stand in-between the two, "She's none of your business."

"Girlfriend?" Crowley assumed, "I didn't know you were expecting," he said, noting the girl's obviously pregnant belly, but then he paused, "Wait a second," he looked back to Dean, "This isn't your sister, is it?"

Dean just looked at Crowley, refusing to confirm or deny what he had just asked.

"Wow, all these years that we've been besties. I've heard only rumors of her existence. Now I can say I've met the female Winchester counterpart. Where was she during the apocalypse?"

"Safe," Dean stated, "Don't worry about her," he hesitated, "And you and I- we've never been besties. What the hell do you want, Crowley?"

Crowley looked at the girl again and then back to Dean, "You have something I want."

"What could I possibly have that you want?" Dean barked.

"Blood," Crowley stated, "I need the blood of a righteous man."

Dean scoffed, "I'm not giving you my blood," he stated, "What the hell do you even need it for?"

"A spell," Crowley divulged, "Don't you worry your pretty little mind darling. I promise not to do anything naughty with it."

Dean shook his head, "No, hell no Crowley. How do I know you're not gonna end the world with it?"

Crowley eyed him, "Aw, I'm flattered. Dean Winchester thinks I'm powerful enough to end the world," the demon smirked.

"Well… Aren't you?"

"Probably," the king answered, "But we'll quite possibly never know. Point is, there's no way YOUR blood is powerful enough to end the world. Now please, hand over some of your precious gold and I'll be on my way."

"And if I don't?" the Winchester challenged.

Crowley sighed, "Well, I really didn't want it to come to this," and with a flick of his wrist Imogen was thrown violently against the far wall and held there by the demon.

"Let her go!" Dean yelled, starting to lunge at Crowley, but in turn was also pinned against the opposite wall.

Imogen was jolted awake when she was slammed against the wall, she tried to move but some force was immobilizing her, she looked up to see her oldest brother pinned as well, "Dean," she cried out, "What's going on?"

Slowly Crowley turned to face the youngest Winchester and walked towards her, "Hello Darling," he smiled wickedly, "I don't think we've met yet. I'm Crowley, king of hell."

Imogen winced a little, "I've heard a lot about you," she looked pleadingly towards Dean.

"Don't worry," Dean growled, "He won't hurt you."

"Oh I won't?" Crowley laughed, "We'll see about that," he looked back to Imogen, "I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm afraid I haven't heard as much about you from your brothers as you have about me. What's your name?"

"Imogen," she answered, her voice small, "I'm Imogen."

Crowley nodded, "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he reached up to gently caress her cheek, "Now, don't take what I'm about to do personally," he slowly turned his wrist and Imogen screamed out in pain as she dropped into a pile on the floor, hands gripping her stomach.

"Stop!" Dean yelled, fighting against the invisible force that was holding him in place.

Crowley looked over his shoulder at Dean, "So how about that blood?"

"You're out of your damn mind!" Dean growled.

With that word Crowley made the same motion with his wrist again, but this time instead of slowly he did it a lot faster, causing Imogen to scream out in pain yet again, tears streaking down her face.

"You're going to kill her!" Dean yelled at Crowley.

Crowley couldn't help but to chuckle, "You think that bothers me?" he asked, "Besides, I'm not going to start with her. The baby will go first."

"You bastard," Imogen cried, hands folded around her stomach as another ripping feeling went through her abdomen, ""Exorcizamus te," she began the exorcism slowly but sped up with each word, "Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas omnis incursio infernalis adversarii," but then she was silenced and physically couldn't speak.

"Oh darling," Crowley turned to face her, "Save your breath. Even if I allowed you to finish that silly exorcism it wouldn't work. I have a few tricks up my sleeve," he winked before turning back to Dean, "Have you changed your mind on the blood yet?"

Dean glared at the man, but looked up again at his sister who would have been screaming in pain if it wasn't for Crowley silencing her, "How much do you need?" Dean asked.

"Just a bit," he stated, pulling a knife from his pocket and slicing open Dean's arm, the man winced in pain as Crowley milked his arm for enough blood to fill the small bottle he had brought, "As a parting gift I'll wipe you from the police radar," and then the demon disappeared and Dean dropped to the floor and Imogen was crying.

In an instant Dean was across the room, "Are you okay?" Dean asked, grabbing his sister gently.

Imogen shook her head and reached down in between her legs, bringing her hand back up to reveal blood, "D-Dean," she sputtered, "I-I think something's wrong."

"Oh fuck," Dean whispered, pulling out his phone and trying first to call Sam and then for an ambulance, but neither call went through, "Picked the worst damn night to spend in a cabin in the middle of nowhere," he muttered.

Imogen bit her lip as what she rightly assumed to be a contraction rippled through her once again, her fists balled up and she nearly screamed, "Dean!"

"What?" Dean asked, looking at his sister, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"I don't know what Crowley did, but I think the baby is coming," she clinched her teeth.

"What?" Dean asked, "Now? The baby is coming now?"

Imogen nodded stiffly, "I can feel it," she told him, "I've gotta go to the hospital."

Dean's mouth hung open for a moment, "Em, there's no hospitals anywhere near here and Sam's got the car," he told her, "Can you hold it?"

Imogen glared at her brother, "I would fucking love to," she winced as another contraction hit her, "Baby isn't waiting."

Dean took a deep breath, "Okay, okay. We can do this."

"Dean," she swallowed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

The oldest Winchester looked more panicked than Imogen had seen in practically all of her life, "Okay, it's okay. I'm just- I uh… I'm gonna deliver the baby I guess."

Imogen looked horrified, "I don't want you to do that!"

"I don't either!" he squealed, "Doesn't look like we have another choice."

And then Imogen screamed in pain, "Now!" she yelled, trying to pull off her sweat pants and underwear, "I can feel it. Dean."

Dean nodded and reluctantly looked in-between his sister's legs, "Oh god, I can see the head. Em, it looks so gross."

"Dean!" she yelled at her brother.

"Okay," his face was pale and he swallowed hard, "Okay, push- I think."

And the second Imogen pushed the baby shot out of her and into Dean's waiting hands and immediately started to scream.

"Ah there we go, sweetheart," he smiled down at the little one, trying to clear the gunk out of the baby's eyes and nose and mouth, "It's a boy," he told his sister, not taking his eyes off the little one.

"What?" Imogen asked weakly, trying to look up from where she was laying on the ground, "No, the doctor said it was a girl, a baby girl."

Dean chuckled and pulled out his pocket knife to sever the umbilical cord before taking off his flannel shirt and wrapping the baby in that before handing him off to Imogen, "Well, congratulations Mommy. Your baby girl has a penis."

Imogen took the baby in her arms and looked down at his tiny face. He had stopped crying and was now silent with his eyes closed but he was breathing.

"Oh my god," Imogen breathed, "He's beautiful."

Dean nodded in agreement, peaking at the little one, "Yeah he is. Come on," he slowly helped Imogen up, "Let's get you onto the couch," he slowly helped his sister over to the couch and lowered her onto it.

Imogen pulled a blanket over her bottom half so that she would be covered, "I thought he wasn't going to make it," she told her brother, "I thought Crowley had killed him."

Dean nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I thought that too," he sat next to his sister, staring at the baby, "You did good, little sister."

Imogen looked at her brother and smiled, "I couldn't have done it without you. You know that right?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her.

"Do you wanna hold him, again?" she asked as she handed the flannel wrapped infant to her older brother, "I'm gonna change and clean up," slowly and painfully she stood up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her and she grabbed some clothes out of her bag and walked into the other room to clean herself up and put on clean clothing.

"Guess we can thank Crowley for the electricity," Dean called to his sister, studying the face of the tiny infant. He was so consumed by the baby that he failed to hear Sam pull up in the Impala and come inside. Dean's back was to the front door.

"Woah," Sam said as he walked inside, "How'd you get the electricity on?" and then he spotted the puddle of blood on the floor where Imogen had given birth, "Dean, Dean!" he yelled, hustling over to his brother to check on him.

Dean looked at his brother, "Shhh, you'll scare the baby."

Sam's jaw dropped as he looked down, "Imogen had the baby?" he asked, "Where is she? Is she okay? What the hell happened?"

"She's fine," Dean told his brother, "She's in the other room changing."

Slowly Sam sat down next to Dean on the couch, "What the hell happened?"

Dean sighed, "Crowley showed up. He wanted my blood and I didn't want to give it to him, he started torturing Em, so I gave him my blood and he left. But whatever he did to her made her give birth."

Sam looked up from the baby and locked eyes with his brother, "So you…"

Dean nodded, "Yep. I delivered the baby."

"How was that?"

"Oh so much fun," Dean rolled his eyes, "I mean, what do you think? I'm covered in blood and my sister's afterbirth," he motioned to his dirty clothing.

Sam couldn't help but to chuckle, "Can I hold her?" he asked.

Dean nodded and laid the flannel wrapped infant to his brother, "He's a boy," Dean told his brother.

"Boy?" Sam asked, gently rocking the tiny infant, "But the doctor said it was a girl."

Dean shrugged, "Looks like the doctor was wrong. Or it's a girl with a penis," he chuckled, amused that he was able to make that joke twice.

"Wow," Sam smiled at the tiny baby, "He's gorgeous."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, he is."

Then Imogen limped back into the room, "Sam," she looked at her brother, "You're back. Couldn't have gotten here forty-five minutes ago?"

Dean laughed, "Why? So you could give birth in my car instead of on a dirty floor?"

Imogen nodded, "I mean, that sounds good to me," she walked over and took a seat between her brothers, "How is he?" she asked.

"Quiet," Dean told her, "He hasn't made a noise."

Imogen nodded and looked to Sam, "Can I have him?" she asked.

Sam nodded and handed her back the infant.

"Wow," she whispered, unable to look away from the tiny face and eyes that opened the second that she help him.

"He knows his mama," Dean stated.

"I guess I should run back into town and get some stuff," Sam slowly stood up.

Imogen shook her head, "No, let's all just get some sleep. We'll get supplies in the morning."

"What about formula and diapers?" Dean asked.

Imogen shrugged, "I was planning on breast feeding anyways, and how much can a baby shit and piss in one night?"

Dean shrugged, "No idea."

Sam sighed, "Me either."

"Well, let's just hit a Walmart or something in the morning. I'm exhausted."

Dean nodded, "Okay, we'll, then let's all get some sleep," he said, kicking off his boots and settling down into a chair next to the couch.

Sam picked the other chair and the two brothers made themselves as comfortable as possible. Imogen attempted to nurse the infant until he fell asleep then she lay on the couch with the swaddled baby on her chest and they both passed out.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

There it was again, that loud, obnoxious screaming coming from the bed next to her. Imogen pulled a pillow over her own head, trying to block out the noise. Sleep, all she wanted was sleep and it felt like every five minutes that kid was crying.

Loudly the teen girl groaned, sitting up and turning on the bedside lamp before peering into her son's bassinet and at the red faced infant. She reached inside and picked him up, holding him at arm's length and glaring at him.

"Okay Oliver, you've been on this Earth a week now. It's time to start sleeping," she groaned, laying him down on her bed and pulling his pajamas off of him to change his diaper, the cold air making him scream louder, "Shhh, baby. You're going to wake up everyone," she redressed him and then tried to nurse him but like every other time he refused her boob, "Come on Oliver," she pleaded, "Please, just eat mama's tit… You'll like it, I promise."

But he wasn't having any of it, instead he screamed like he was being tortured.

"Shhh," Imogen pleaded, gently bouncing him, "Please, be quiet," she begged, she was going to have to walk down the stairs with him and make him a bottle, knowing he was going to wake up everyone in the house, "Oliver," her voice broke, trying to keep herself from crying.

"Knock, knock," a very tired looking Dean opened up the door to the bedroom, a ready-made bottle in hand, "Everything okay?"

Imogen looked at her brother, "Oh thank god," she breather, "Thank you so much."

Dean smiled and walked over, sitting on the bed, and handing over the bottle, "Em, you look exhausted."

She took the bottle from her brother and started to feed her son, "I am," she sighed, "He hasn't slept since he was born and he won't nurse. Dean, I've tried everything. He hates me!"

A small chuckle escaped Dean, "He doesn't hate you."

"Don't laugh at me!" she squawked at her brother while Oliver continued to scream as Imogen attempted to feed him, "What do you want?" she cried, looking at the infant, "You won't eat, you won't sleep, nothing I do is enough!" her voice wasn't loud as she tried to choke back the tears.

It broke Dean's heart, seeing his sister so frustrated and upset so he put his arms out, "Okay, hand him over," Dean stated.

Imogen looked at her brother almost like she didn't believe him.

"Come on," he urged, "I'll watch him, you get some sleep."

"No, Dean. It's not your job."

Dean nodded, "You're right. Taking care of this baby isn't my job. But taking care of you is, and I can't do my job if you can't do yours. Now give him here and get some sleep," he ordered kindly.

Quickly Imogen handed the baby to her older brother, "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Aren't I always?" Dean smiled down at the infant who instantly stopped crying the second he was in Dean's arms, "Hey little man," he gently bounced Oliver, sticking the bottle in his mouth, "There we go."

"He hates me," Imogen wailed, burying her face in her hands.

"Ah, come on Em. He doesn't hate you. You're just exhausted and frustrated and he can sense that, so he's mirroring how you're feeling."

"Oh and you're just Mr. Calm all of a sudden?"

Dean smirked and nodded, "Compared to you, Ms. Hormonal."

Imogen glared at her brother, "You try giving birth and tell me how it makes you feel."

Dean rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Sleep, now. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to the little guy."

The teen lay back on her bed and turned off the lamp, "I know you won't," she yawned, "Thank you Dean."

He nodded and slowly walked out of the room with the baby, closing the door behind him, and heading down the stairs. Dean sat down on the couch and finished giving the baby his bottle while he watched late night television. When Oliver had his fill Dean burped him and lay him across his chest where they both fell asleep.

Both Dean and Oliver slept heavy for a few hours before Sam walked in and gently shook Dean awake. Dean startled, but kept his hands securely on the baby.

"What? Huh?" the oldest Winchester asked, confused.

"Dean," Sam looked at his brother who looked oddly domestic, "Everything okay? Where's Imogen?"

Slowly Dean sat up, cradling the still sleeping baby in his arms, "Uh," he scratched his head, "She couldn't get Ollie to sleep, I offered to take care of him so she could sleep."

"Ah Dean," Sam sighed, "We said we were gonna let her do this. She's never going to learn if we help her."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Of course she'll learn. But Sammy, you didn't see her. She was exhausted, I don't think she's slept more than an hour at a time since he was born."

"Well, that's what happens when you have a baby."

"Yeah, Sammy. I get that, but maybe, just maybe, if she has a little help and can get a good night's sleep once in a while she'll be able to adjust better to being a mom. Hell, she thinks he hates her."

Sam's brow furrowed, "Really? He's just a baby. He doesn't hate anyone."

"I know that, Sammy. But she's kinda crazy right now. She just needs to sleep and we're her brothers. It's our job to help her."

With a roll of his eyes Sam shrugged, "Okay, fine. Whatever. Do you want me to make a bottle or something?"

Dean shook his head and stood up, handing the baby off to his brother, "Nah, I got the bottle. You can change his diaper."

"Ah come on," Sam complained, "You're not serious, are you?"

Dean smiled, picking up the bottle and heading into Bobby's kitchen, "Diapers are on the desk," he said, heading into the kitchen and dropping the dirty bottle into the sink before getting a clean one and mixing up some formula for the baby.

Meanwhile Bobby was coming down the stairs when the smell of dirty diaper hit his nose, "You know," the old man began, "When I said you guys could come and stay here after the baby came I didn't know I'd be woken up a hundred times a night by his screaming," he reached the living room and saw Sam changing Oliver's diaper on the couch, "You better not get any baby crap on my couch, boy," Bobby warned.

Sam put the fresh diaper on Oliver before throwing the balled up, soiled one at Bobby, "Think fast!" he laughed to himself, pulling the baby's clothes back on him.

Bobby dodged the diaper and a look of rage flooded his face, "You best be glad you're holding a baby, Sam Winchester. Otherwise I'd be kicking your ass," he saw Dean walk into the room, "Where the hell is your sister?"

"Sleeping," Dean stated, "She needed sleep, I gave her sleep. Won't you guys get the hell off my back?"

Bobby put his hands up defensively, "Sorry," he grumbled, walking into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

"Want me to feed him?" Dean asked his brother who was still holding the infant.

Sam shook his head and took the bottle, "No, I got it."

"Okay," Dean nodded, cleaning up the dirty diaper off the floor before sitting back on the couch and flipping through the channels, "What time is it?"

Bobby checked his watch as he walked back into the living room with his fresh brewed coffee, "A quarter to six."

Dean let out a loud groan, "Why the hell are we up so early."

Bobby pointed to the baby, "That's why."

Dean looked over at his brother who was making faces at the baby he was feeding, "Oh yeah," he smiled to himself, "Babies are a lot of work."

"You're telling me," Bobby scoffed, "I could barely put up with you and Sam and you jerks weren't babies when I had to take care of you."

"Ah stuff it old man," he flipped through the channels before giving up and setting the remote down and dozing in and out of sleep.

The three men spent the next six hours taking turns with the baby. It was amazing, he only cried when he wanted food and the rest of the time he pretty much just slept. Finally Imogen did come down the stairs.

"Hey," she half smiled at her brothers and Bobby, "Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so late."

Dean shook his head, "Don't worry about it kid. We just want you rested."

Sam nodded in agreement.

Imogen looked to Bobby who was holding her baby and slowly approached, "I hope he wasn't too much trouble," she looked worried.

Bobby shook his head, "No, not at all," he slowly handed her back the baby, "Seriously, Em. No problem whatsoever."

"Yeah," Sam added, "Taking care of a baby is easy. I don't see what you're so worked up about."

Dean punched his brother's arm, "Shut up, Sam."

Imogen looked down at her son as tears started streaming down her cheeks, "Yeah," she swallowed hard, "Guess I'm just too emotional."

"Woah," Bobby stood up, putting an arm around Imogen, "Don't listen to Sam. Let's see how well he takes care of a baby on his own… There was three of us taking care of one baby. But Imogen, you're doing a great job. Ollie's been here a week and you haven't asked for help once. You've done pretty much everything on your own," he locked eyes with her, "It's okay to ask us for help. We're your family, that's what we are here for."

Sam slowly got to his feet, "Yeah, Em. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Imogen nodded, looking down at the baby, "I think I made a mistake," her voice squeaked.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, "A mistake?"

"I-I," she took a deep breath, "I don't think I want to be a mom," she handed the baby back to Bobby, "I'm not connecting with him. He cries almost every time that I hold him. I thought there was supposed to be this overwhelming feeling of love, like they show on TV, when you meet your baby… But I don't feel that way. I can't stand it when he cries. I dreaded having to walk down these steps and take him back."

Dean walked over and pulled his sister into a hug, kissing the top of her head, before holding her at arm's length, "Imogen, you're my sister and I love you, so know that what I'm about to say is in your best interest," he paused, "That's too bad. I'm sorry you don't like your son, but you will. You will like him. It might take a week, it might take six weeks, but you'll like him- Hell, you'll love him. Because he's family, and all the Winchesters have is family. Me and Sam and Bobby, we are gonna be here for you."

Slowly Imogen nodded, "Okay," she took a deep breath, "Okay, I'm gonna try."

Dean smirked, "That's my girl. I know you Em, I know you won't give up this easily. Now go get yourself some coffee and something to eat and then come back out here and we'll have some nice family bonding, okay?"

"Okay," she said, walking sluggishly into the kitchen.

Sam and Dean traded glances.

"You sure that was the right thing to say to her?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "What would you have said?"

"Yeah, good point," he sighed, "Look, we're running low on diapers. I'm gonna make a supply run. Do we need anything else?"

Dean nodded, "Yes, we need pretty much everything. Food, diapers, beer, pie," he dug in his pocket for the key and handed it to Sam, "Take care of my baby."

Sam rolled his eyes, "I always do."

It was originally Sam's plan to go to the store just to grab the things that they needed, but he didn't have any idea who he was going to run into when he got there. Sam had the diapers and formula in his cart and was turning down the beer aisle when another cart slammed into his. Wasn't he surprised to see the person pushing the basket with no other than Nick himself?

Nick looked at Sam, obviously not recognizing him. That was not shocking, he'd only met Sam once and it had been dark.

"Sorry man," Nick smiled charmingly, "You okay."

Sam narrowed his eyes at the man, "Oh, yeah," he said coldly, "I'm just fine."

Nick looked a little confused at the hostility that was radiating off of the man, "Really, I'm sorry," Nick repeated, "It was an accident."

Slowly Sam stepped away from his basket and took a step towards Nick, "Really? That was an accident?" he scoffed, "Like getting my sister pregnant, was that an accident?"

At first Nick looked completely confused, but realization hit him like a ton of bricks, "Oh shit," he took a deep breath, "Sorry, but I think you're confused," he was sweating.

"Am I?" Sam asked, "I'm pretty sure that I'm not," but then he paused, "You're Nick Packwood, right?"

Nick nodded, obviously a little frightened, "Yeah," he nodded, "That's me… You're Imogen's brother, right?"

Sam nodded, "Sam. I was the one who didn't beat your ass," he stared the boy down, "I won't make that mistake again."

"Look!" Nick put his hands up, "You got me all wrong. I don't know what your sister told you-"

Sam cut him off, picking the diapers and formula up out of his cart, "You see this shit? This is stuff that I'm buying for YOUR baby. The baby that you helped create. Dean and Bobby and me, we're the ones who are spending late nights with your crying son, when it should be you," he growled throwing the products back into the cart, "You, you're nothing but scum. Anyone would be lucky to get the chance to having a family and kids. And you just threw that all away because," he scrunched up his face in disgust, "Because you're not ready," he added in a mocking tone, "Well, guess what. Imogen's just sixteen. SHE ISN'T READY EITHER. But she can't just walk the fuck away," he ended his rant by shoving Nick against the shelf of beer, turning around to grab his cart.

"Imogen told me I wasn't the father," Nick said, once he could catch him breath.

Slowly Sam turned back around, "Excuse me?"

Nick took a deep breath, "I was ready. I wanted to take her away. I had it all planned out. We would move around and hide until she was eighteen and then we would get married. I was going to take care of my baby. Hell, I wanted to. But then she told me I wasn't the father."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

The boy shrugged, "I guess you don't. But hell, if I had thought she wanted to even knowing that the baby might not be mine I still would have taken her away," he took a deep breath, "But she… she didn't want to go."

"Did she say that?" Sam asked.

Nick shook his head, "No, she didn't. Not exactly. But I could tell."

Sam slowly nodded, trying to process what had just been told to him.

"So it's a boy?" Nick asked, "She told me it was going to be a girl."

"Yeah, it's a boy," Sam shifted uncomfortably, "His name is Oliver," he paused, "Do you wanna see a picture of him?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, more than anything."

Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed Nick the pictures he had.

"Hey, would you mind sending those to me?" Nick asked, "I mean, if it won't be a problem."

"Oh sure," he said, "Not a problem at all," Sam got Nick's number and texted him the pictures.

"Also… This is probably asking too much… But if you guys are staying in town much longer do you think I could drop by?" he asked, "I miss her."

Sam frowned, gently clapping a hand down on the man's shoulder, "I don't know how much longer we are going to be in town," he lied.

Slowly Nick nodded, "No, yeah… Of course. Could you at least talk to Imogen for me? She hasn't returned any of my messages or calls."

"Don't take it personally. We switch up our phone numbers every so often, so it just might be that you don't have her new number."

"Oh, okay," Nick nodded, "Thanks."

"See you around, kid," Sam said, getting the rest of the stuff that he needed and checking out. He knew when he got back to Bobby's he was going to have to have a long and uncomfortable talk with his sister, hopefully without Dean overhearing. It was going to be a challenge.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sam knocked on the door to the room at Bobby's that his sister had been living in, and without waiting for a response he opened the bedroom door.

"Em," he said, seeing her laying her sleeping son down in his bed, "Imogen, I need to talk to you."

Imogen frantically put a finger to her lips before pushing Sam out of the room and closing the door silently behind them, "Sammy!" she whispered loudly as she pulled her brother down the stairs, "If you had woken him up I would have shot you."

"I know, I'm sorry," he stopped her at the foot of the stairs, "I just… Can we talk?"

"Fine," Imogen agreed, "What do you want to talk about?"

Sam grabbed her by the arm and pulled her outside and to a more secluded spot in the salvage yard.

"What's going on?" Imogen asked when they came to a stop, "Why are we hiding?"

"We aren't hiding. You're the one who's been hiding something."

Imogen rested one hand on her hip and the other hung at her side, "What are you talking about?"

Sam took a deep breath before speaking, "I ran into Nick at the store today."

Imogen swallowed hard and felt her palms start to sweat, "Oh?"

Slowly Sam nodded, "Yeah… He had no idea who I was, well until I assaulted him."

"You assaulted him?" Imogen yelled, "What the hell is the matter with you Sam?"

"What's a matter with me?" he repeated, "You told all of us that he ditched you because he didn't want to be a dad."

Imogen sighed, "Well, that may not have been the whole truth."

"What do you mean not the whole truth? That wasn't the truth at all!"

"You're right," Imogen nodded, "I lied to you guys."

"Why though?" Sam asked, "If he was willing to help then why the hell didn't you want to let him?"

"BECAUSE!" the girl yelled, "He already fucking hurt me once. He abandoned me, just like everyone else in life. I'm not going to let it happen again. I'm not going to let my son get hurt by someone who's just going to walk out of his life eventually!"

"How do you know he would do that?" Sam asked sternly, "How do you know he isn't going to stick by you to the end? Because I don't know the guy very well but he doesn't strike me as someone who talks just to talk. I think he meant what he said."

"Yeah, well you don't know him like I know him," she shook her head, "But you're right. He does mean what he says," she admitted hesitantly.

"So then why lie to him?" Sam asked, "He said you told him he wasn't the father, but you told me and Dean and Bobby that he was."

"He is," she sighed, "I just… Sam…"

"No, what is it? Why are you lying to this guy? He loves you, I can tell that he loves you. He's hurt because you lied to him again."

"That's all I do," she said, looking down at her feet, "All I do is hurt people and lie."

"Em, that's not what I'm saying."

"Yeah it is," she looked at him, "Sam you don't get it."

"Well then enlighten me. I would love to understand what the hell is going through your head."

"You sound like Dean," she muttered.

"No, Dean would be high fiving you for kicking Nick to the curb, he would have encouraged it," he sighed, and took a couple of breaths before changing the subject from Dean to Nick, "He knows."

"Who is he and what does he know?" she asked.

"Nick. He knows that he's really the father."

"No he doesn't. Not unless you told him."

Sam shook his head, "He knew even before I said anything. So why did you lie? Em, just tell me why."

"Because," she took a deep breath, "Because I love him, I love him a lot. But you guy are my family, and I couldn't have both. So I chose y'all," she smiled sadly, "I finally got to choose. I could have run away with him, I know how to hide from you. But I chose to stay with you," she looked straight at Sam as she spoke, "And I knew if there was another way you'd want me to choose it. If there was a life outside of hunting you would have wanted me to take it."

Slowly Sam nodded, "You're right. I would have."

Dean stepped out from behind the car he had been crouched behind, "How'd Nick take that?"

Both Imogen and Sam jumped with surprise.

"Dean?" Sam barked, "You were spying on us?"

Dean shook his head, "No… Well yes, but not intentionally. I was out here already when you two showed up."

Imogen sighed, "So you heard everything?"

Dean nodded slowly, "Every last word."

"So what? Do I get a lecture or are you gonna lock me in the panic room and starve me?"

"When the hell have we ever done that?" Sam asked, offended.

Dean pulled his sister to him and wrapped his arms around her, "I love you, sis."

Imogen smiled and gently patted her brother's back, "That's good. I was worried for a minute you might not and I made the wrong choice," she teased.

The oldest Winchester rolled his eyes and pulled out of the hug, "You're an idiot, you know that? You could have had a normal life all that stuff, and you threw it away."

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes, "Are you complaining?"

Dean shook his head and smiled, "No, definitely not complaining."

Sam sighed, "Nick wants you to call him. He says you haven't been answering your phone, so I covered for you and said you got a new phone number. And now he knows you're in town. I told him I didn't know how long we were sticking around though."

Slowly Imogen nodded, "I guess I should talk to him."

Dean frowned, "Why?" he looked almost panicked, "You don't need him. You've got me and Sammy."

"Well yeah, but I can't have sex with you," Imogen joked as she turned to head back to the house.

Dean visibly shuttered and looked to Sam, "I cannot believe that she just said that to me."

Sam raised and eye at his brother, "Why can't you believe that? You raised her, she's exactly like you."

"Shut up, Sam," Dean said, chuckling a little as he followed his sister back inside of Bobby's house.

"Hey'a Bobby," Dean smiled at the man who was cooking, he opened the fridge to get a beer, "What are you making? It smells fan-freaking-tastic."

Bobby looked at Dean, "Chili," he said, taking the beer from Dean, opening it, and drinking it himself.

"That's my beer," Dean whined.

"This is my house."

Dean rolled his eyes and got himself another beer, "So catch wind of anything lately?"

"Nope," Bobby answered, stirring the pot of chili.

"Ah come on Bobby. I'm going nuts. Anything? Even just a long shot."

"Your sister just had a baby a week ago and you wanna go hunt? How well do you think she's gonna take that?"

"Find anything close? It could be like a day trip."

Bobby sighed and headed into the study, picking up a file off of his desk, "Possible vamp kill a couple towns," he handed Dean the file, "Your sister is gonna kill you."

"Why?" Dean asked, flipping through the file, "This will be easy. I'll leave tomorrow and be back the next day."

"Dean," Bobby warned, "You better talk to her before you do anything."

Dean sighed, "Fine," he groaned, "She can stay here though, right? Her and Ollie?"

"Of course," Bobby nodded, "She's always welcome here… I'm just not sure she's gonna be ready for you to leave. She's having a hard time."

Slowly Dean nodded, "I know… But I'll be gone a day, you can help her if she runs into trouble."

"Winchester, I don't know the first thing about babies."

Dean patted him on the shoulder, "I've got faith in you old man," he walked up the stairs to Imogen's room and quietly opened the door. Imogen was on the bed changing the squirming baby's diaper, "Hey," he smiled, "Can I come in?"

Imogen nodded as she was fastening the diaper on her son, "Sure, Dean."

Dean slowly approached and sat down on the bed, gently rubbing Oliver's head, "You feeling any better?"

"Yes," she told him, "I was just overwhelmed and exhausted. You saved my ass."

"Yeah well," Dean smiled heroically, "That's what I do," he paused briefly, "So, there's something I need to talk to you about," he fidgeted a bit.

"What's up?" Imogen asked, picking up her son and giving him the bottle she had just prepared.

"So uh," he ran a hand through his short hair, "Bobby found us a case. There's a possible vamp nest a few hours from here."

"Oh," Imogen took a breath, "Okay. So how long do you think it will take?"

Dean looked at his sister skeptically, wondering why she wasn't freaking out, "A day or two, maybe."

"Okay," she smiled, "When are we leaving? I need to pack up," she laid Oliver in his bassinet and stood up to grab her bag, "Sam just went to the store so I think we'll have plenty of diapers for two days."

"Hang on," Dean gently grabbed his sister by the arm and pulled her back down on the bed, "Em, you've got a week old baby. You can't go on a hunt."

"Well, I know I can't actually be hunting Dean, I'm not stupid. But I can still tag along."

"Em," he took a deep breath and let it out, "I think you should stay here. It would just be easier for you and Ollie."

Imogen visibly flinched, "Wait, what?"

"You can't come. Not right now."

"Why not?" she asked defensively.

"You know why not."

She shot to her feet, "This is fucking bull shit Dean!" she yelled, "After everything I gave up for you guys and you're kicking me to the curb!"

"Woah," Dean got to his feet, "It's not like that, Em. But Sammy and I can't just stand idly by and watch innocent people get hurt."

The female Winchester shook her head, "You're such a dick, Dean."

Dean raised his eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she grumbled, "You promised me that you weren't just going to up and leave me. Hell, you promised me you and Sam were takin a break from hunting. How do I even know that you're coming back? This is my broken leg all over again!"

"Imogen," he shook his head, "You couldn't be more wrong. But hey, you have such little faith in me maybe I won't come back at all."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Just go," she growled, "I don't need you anyways."

Slowly Dean stood up and looked down at Oliver who was snoozing in his crib, "Bye kiddo," he said softly, turning to walk out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

Imogen threw herself down on her bed and if it hadn't been for the fact that she didn't want to wake up her son she would have screamed into the pillow, so instead she decided to scream internally. About an hour later she heard the familiar sound of the Impala starting so she rushed to the window to see Dean pulling out of Bobby's driveway in the Impala, but Sam wasn't with him.

She checked to make sure Oliver was still sleeping before she made her way down the stairs into the living room where she found Sam kicked back and watching television.

"You didn't go with him?" she asked.

Sam shook his head, "No. I told you that I'm here for you. At least until you get more used to being a mom."

"Sorry I'm such a burden," she muttered.

Sam sighed and stood up, putting a hand on each of his sister's shoulders and looking her in the eye, "You're not a burden, Imogen. Please stop saying that. Look, if I had wanted to go with Dean I would have, but I'd rather be here helping out."

Imogen nodded and tightly hugged her brother, "Thank you," she broke the hug when she heard her son crying upstairs, "I better go see what he wants."

"All right, I'll be down here if you need anything," Sam told her, sitting back down on the couch.

Imogen headed to the stairs, but looked to her brother before heading up, "Thank you, Sammy."

Sam smiled and nodded, "You're welcome, kiddo."

Imogen headed upstairs and picked her son up out of the bassinet, gently rocking him to get him to settle back down. It wasn't long before he was back to sleep. Imogen tried to sleep, but she couldn't. So she pulled out her phone and dialed Nick's number, it rang so many times she thought he wasn't going to answer, but he did.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nick. It's Imogen."

"Oh hey," his voice was groggy.

"Were you asleep?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it."

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for my brother. I know you ran into him at the store today."

"Hey, it's understandable I guess. He didn't know the whole story."

Imogen sighed, "Do you wanna come over tomorrow?" she asked, "Do you wanna meet your son?"

There was a short pause, "So he is mine?"

"Yeah, biologically anyways."

"What time can I come?" he asked, "Can I come tonight?"

"No, not tonight. It's nearly midnight and Bobby would have a fit. Just come in the morning when you can."

"Okay Em," he sounded almost excited, "I'll see you first thing in the morning."

"All right Nick," she smiled to herself, "Good night," and she hung up the phone, closed her eyes and fell asleep, waking up periodically though the night when Oliver would cry and need something. Imogen must have been getting more used to the baby, or he was less needy, because it wasn't nearly as hard or draining for her to get up with him several times that night.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight

It was still dark outside the next morning when Bobby woke. Nothing unusual about that, he typically got up before dawn and went to bed well after dusk. However, what was unusual was as he was stumbling into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee there was a knock at his front door. Bobby didn't know who could possibly be here this early so he grabbed his gun and slowly approached the door, opening it with caution. He was incredibly surprised at who was on the other side, he had to blink a couple of times to make sure that he wasn't seeing things that weren't actually there.

"Nick?" his voice croaked out, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Imogen asked me to come," he said, "Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you."

"Imogen asked you to be here at a quarter 'till five?" Bobby asked, "Is everything okay?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah I think so. She told me to come over last night… I guess it's a little early."

Slowly Bobby nodded, "A little," he yawned, "Look, you can come in but just keep it quiet. Sam's asleep in the living room and Imogen and the baby are still asleep upstairs," he checked his watch, "The baby usually wakes up about five wanting a bottle. You can make one and take it up there."

Nick nodded and followed Bobby into the house and the kitchen, "Uh, Bobby," he cleared his throat, "How do you make a bottle?"

Bobby sighed and grabbed a clean bottle from the cabinet and the can of formula from the pantry and handing both of them to Nick, "Read the can," he told the kid, patting him on the back and turning to make his coffee.

Nick followed the directions on the can of formula and shook up the bottle, "How is she?" he asked, "I haven't seen her in months. Bobby, if I had known that the baby was mine-"

The old man interrupted him, "Save it kid, Sam filled me in on all the details. I ain't mad at ya'."

"Thanks," Nick nodded, "Will we be able to hear when the baby wakes up?"

Bobby chuckled, "Oh yeah," he nodded, "That boy can scream."

Nick smiled uneasily, "Yeah, I bet."

Bobby glared at Nick, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"N-nothing!" Nick stuttered, "I'm sorry! I just didn't know what else to say! I'm nervous!"

A small chuckle escaped Bobby, "Don't be nervous kid. Be terrified. Absolutely terrified. Because here's the thing, I'm not going to let you hurt that little girl again. Either you are in or you're dead. I like you Nick, but I like Imogen a hell of a lot more."

"Bobby," Sam's scratchy voice cut across as he stood at the entrance to the kitchen, "Quit scaring the boy."

"Don't tell me what to do," the old man grumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm just saying, he's trembling. He's scared enough," Sam looked at Nick, "But he does speak the truth Nick, the next time your hurt my sister will be the last."

Nick nodded but didn't say anything and for a few minutes they all stood there in silence. For the first time ever they were actually relieved to hear the baby cry.

"Go on," Bobby told him, "She's in the last room at the end of the hall."

"I know which room is her's," Nick said, picking up the bottle.

"You do?" Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because I'm pretty sure you've never been allowed upstairs."

"Last room at the end of the hall, you said?" Nick replied, "Thanks Bobby!" he grimaced as he walked upstairs getting closer and closer to the sound of the baby. He reached her door and gently knocked.

"Come in!" Imogen called softly.

Slowly Nick opened up the door and looked inside. Imogen was on the bed changing the diaper of the week old infant, "Hey," he said, clearing his throat.

Upon hearing his voice Imogen looked up, almost shocked to see Nick, "Woah, I didn't expect you here this early."

"Yeah, sorry. I couldn't sleep last night," he slowly walked in and looked down at the baby, "Is this him?" he asked, "Is this my son?"

Imogen shook her head, "No, actually. This is one I just found at a store. Your son is in the basement," she rolled her eyes.

Nick laughed nervously and fidgeted, "His name's Oliver?"

"His name is Oliver Samuel Dean, or Dean Samuel, depending on who I'm more pissed at."

Slowly Nick nodded, "He's so tiny."

"Yep," Imogen finished his diaper change and picked him up, nestling him in the crook of her arm, "You have a bottle?" she asked.

Nick nodded and sat down on the bed, offering it out to her.

She shook her head, "No, you're gonna feed him," she yawned, starting to hand him off.

"Woah, woah. Em, I don't know how to hold a baby."

"No time like the present to learn," she gently laid the baby in his arms, "Just keep his head supported and stick the bottle in his mouth. It's easy once you get the hang of it."

Nick nodded and did what she said, completely terrified the whole time, "Holy shit," he said, "I'm feeding a baby."

Imogen smiled, "You sure are," she gently rubbed her baby's head, "Now, when you're done with that put him on your shoulder with his body facing you and gently pat his back until he burps. I'm gonna go back to sleep."

Nick's jaw dropped, "EM!" he exclaimed, "I don't know how to do this."

"Me neither," she shrugged, "I've only been doing this a week longer than you. I'll be right here if you need help," she yawned, "But for now I'm going to get some more sleep," she lay back on the bed and pulled the blanket back over her.

Nick sat there, feeding the baby and staring at him. He couldn't take his eyes off of the little one, "Hi Oliver," he whispered, smiling a little, "He kinda looks like me," he said softly to Imogen who was already snoring again.

Once Oliver had finished his bottle he was back to sleep so Nick laid him in the bassinet and then lay down next to Imogen on her bed and passed out himself. He hadn't realized just how exhausted he had been.

The first day that Nick was at Bobby's was an adjustment, though not too difficult of one. He helped to take care of the little baby the best that he knew how. Imogen got to sleep a little more than normal. Then he had to leave for work but promised to come back over after.

It took a bit of convincing for Bobby to agree to letting Nick sleep over, but the two promised to keep the bedroom door open at all times and that there would be no funny business. That wasn't going to be a problem for Imogen anyways, she didn't want to take a chance of getting pregnant again and she knew her body was still recovering.

A week passed, and there was no sign of Dean but Nick stuck by Imogen every moment that he wasn't working. Doing everything he could to take care of her and the baby. Nick suggested that they go and stay at his apartment, but once Bobby and Sam caught wind of that there was no way that was going to happen, so basically Nick moved in. Despite being assaulted by Sam the two ended up hitting it off pretty well.

Two weeks passed.

Three.

A month.

Two months.

Three.

Imogen heard nothing from Dean. He would occasionally check in with Sam or Bobby, but once again he pretended as if Imogen had never existed. This time when her birthday passed she wished for nothing more than Dean to waltz back in the picture like he had done the year before. But he didn't. And it hurt, but Imogen had to pretend like it didn't because now she had more important things to take care of. Oliver was growing and changing every day and she didn't want to miss a minute of it because she was grieving for her brother. So she did the hard thing and with the help of Nick she cared for her baby boy.

In the earlier hours of the morning when Oliver was exactly six months Imogen was awoken to the sound of her son's screaming and then abruptly nothing. It wasn't a normal scream either, it was a scream of pain. In an instant Imogen was upright on the bed, gun in hand, and flipping on the light.

There was what appeared to be a human standing with her son, tearing into his chest with its teeth.

"No!" Imogen screamed, her blood running cold.

However she was barely awake and even though she shot her entire clip she didn't manage a single fatal shot on the monster. In an instant the werewolf had dropped the motionless infant to the ground and had thrown Imogen off the bed and across the room. He chased after her, obviously wanting another meal, and he would have gotten to her if Nick hadn't jumped on his back.

The werewolf through Nick off and pinned him to the ground. Nick lifted up and arm to choke the werewolf, but in an instant the monster had taken a chunk out of Nick's arm with its fangs and he was screaming in pain and looking extremely confused as to how someone appearing to be a human could do what it just did.

If Imogen had blinked she would have missed Sam busting into the room, with Bobby right behind him, and dropping the werewolf like it was nothing.

Sam was at Imogen's side helping her up, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, pushing past Sam and running over to where her baby lay on the ground. Where his chest used to be now was a bloody, gaping hole. Imogen screaming and she couldn't quit screaming.

Bobby was helping Nick up, inspecting his wound, "Come on," he said before he realized what Imogen was screaming about, "We need to get y'all down to the panic room and make sure there's no others in the house."

"What the hell was that?" Nick asked, not being able to focus on anything as his arm was still pouring blood.

"Werewolves," Bobby answered, looking towards Imogen and seeing her holding the lifeless infant and Sam standing by, unable to move, "Oh god," any other time Bobby would have rushed to comfort the girl, but he couldn't now. Right now he had to work, "Sam, pick her up. They need to go to the panic room NOW."

Sam did as he said and carried his sister and the infant she was wailing over down the stairs and got all three of them into room. Bobby handed Imogen a pistol.

"Protect yourself," the old man instructed, "We will be back as soon as we know this place is safe."

Bobby and Sam left the panic room, locking the door behind them.

"The baby," Bobby said, heading up the stairs.

"Not now, Bobby," he shook his head, sending his MIA brother an emergency text before the two hunters went out to secure the house.

"He's gone," Imogen's whole body was trembling as she held her lifeless infant in her arms, "Nick," her voice was barely audible.

Nick was slumped against the wall in the corner of the room, bleeding out, but he managed to crawl his way over to her, "Imogen, I'm so sorry. This is my fault."

Imogen sobbed. She spent several minutes just sobbing hysterically until Nick took the mutilated infant off of her lap and wrapped him up in a blanket so she couldn't see him.

"Em," he coughed, "I know this is the wrong time to ask, but what the hell happened?"

"Werewolf," she coked out, "It was a werewolf."

"It looked human."

"They generally do," she cleared her throat, her hunter persona taking over.

"I didn't even know werewolves were real. Why aren't you more shocked about this?" he asked gently.

"It's my life," she said, looking towards the door, "Werewolves, demons, vampires, things you've never even heard of, the things that haunt your fucking dreams. They're all real."

"You realize how crazy that sounds, right?"

Imogen shook her head, "Actually I don't, Nick. I fucking grew up knowing about this shit. So it doesn't sound fucking crazy. It's the real goddamn world. Hell, the only reason we fucking met was because a damn vampire almost killed me," she paused, "Oh, and my mom was killed by a werewolf. It wasn't some person, it was a damn monster. My brothers, Bobby, and I, we're all hunters. We kill these bastards, we save tons of people from monsters," her voice was cold, "So don't tell me I'm fucking crazy."

"Okay, okay," he breathed, "I'm sorry."

Imogen looked at his bloody t-shirt, noticing the large bite mark, "He got you?" she asked.

"Yeah, the werewolf or whatever. Am I going to be okay?" he asked, looking at the missing chunk of flesh from his arm as it miraculously healed, making him speechless.

"Mhm," she said, slowly getting to her feet, "If you're bitten by a werewolf you become infected."

"I'm infected?" he asked, panicked, "What does that mean? Am I gonna turn into one of them?"

"No," she said, shaking her head, "There's only one cure, and luckily I know what it is and I can give it to you right now."

"Oh thank god," he breathed, "Can it fix Oliver?"

Just the mere mention of her son's name made her weak at the knees and she sucked in a loud breath, trying not to be weak, "N-no," she stuttered, "He's already gone," she looked at Nick and closed her eyes, "I'm so sorry Nick," she whispered.

"What for?" he asked, looking confused.

"For everything. For lying to you about everything from the beginning. I should have just been honest with you," a tear slipped down her cheek, "This is my fault," she told him, "All of it."

"Hey," Nick said weakly, "No, Em. Don't say that. We still have each other, I still love you. I forgive you for absolutely everything. I know why you did what you did. I would have done the same thing," he assured her, trying his best to comfort her.

Imogen let out a loud sob before pulling herself back together.

"You said there's a cure. Once I'm cured I promise I won't ever leave your side. You can teach me how to hunt. I'm not going anywhere. We'll track down every one of those bastards who hurt our son and your mom and we'll kill every last one of them."

"Okay," Imogen breathed out shakily, "We'll do that," she bit her lip, "Nick, I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything."

"I need you to close your eyes, keep them closed until I tell you to open them, and swear to me you won't peek," she was shaking almost uncontrollably, "Swear to me."

"Okay," Nick nodded, doing as she said and shutting his eyes, "I swear I won't peek."

Imogen wanted to vomit, her stomach was flipping over and over and it was amazing that she didn't vomit. Slowly she picked up the pistol that Bobby handed her, flicked the safety off, readied it, and aimed it at his head, "I love you Nick."

"I love you too, Imogen," he replied, keeping his eyes shut tight.

Imogen took a deep breath in, steadying her hand before pulling the trigger. In an instant Nick fell sideways where he had been sitting. Then she shot him again in the chest for good measure before she screamed and dropped to her knees and sobbed into the dead man's bloodied chest, pulling her blanket wrapped baby over to them. She couldn't stop screaming.

She placed the loaded gun against her own temple.

 **A/N: Hey there. I just wanted to say that this was an incredibly difficult chapter to write and I hope you all don't hate me after reading it. Please be nice. Thank you so much.**


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Thankfully Dean wasn't too terribly far from Sioux Falls when he got the text message from Sam. He tried to call both his brother and Bobby to see what was going on but neither one of them would answer their phones no matter how many times he called. So he packed up his motel room, got in the Impala, and drove as fast as he could to Bobby's. He was more than a couple hours away but the way he drove he would be there in no time.

Bobby and Sam checked every square inch of the house and found absolutely nothing. No monsters, no forced entry, nothing to even remotely suggest that a werewolf had been there, except of course for the bloody mess in Imogen's room. Then the two went outside, it was still dark, and they checked the yard and all of the surrounding area. Nothing.

"I don't get it," Sam said, "How the hell did a werewolf get inside without us hearing it? Why did it bypass me on the couch and get into Imogen's room and neither of us were the wiser?" he asked as the two hunters headed back inside of the house together.

"No idea," Bobby sighed, shaking his head sadly, "Nick got bit."

Slowly Sam nodded, "Yeah, I saw."

"You know what that means?" Bobby asked as they stood at the top of the basement stairs.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "We've gotta shoot him," he swallowed hard, "She's gonna lose her baby and her boyfriend all in one day."

Bobby took a deep breath and nodded, "What are we going to do?"

"Not a damn clue," Sam started descending the stairs.

"You should probably comfort Imogen, I'll take care of Nick. I'll explain everything to him."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

The two hunters approached the door of the panic room and Bobby unlocked it, before even opening it they could hear Imogen's loud, heart-wrenching sobs. Bobby took a deep breath and slowly pulled open the door.

Imogen was lying in a pool of Nick's blood with her head on his chest and what Bobby and Sam rightly assumed as her blanket wrapped baby laying between them. She didn't look up or move other than to sob.

For a moment Sam and Bobby stood at the door just looking in. Neither could move nor look away from the sight that lay before them.

"Holy hell," Bobby whispered, shocked that Imogen had done the job for them.

Sam was the one that noticed she still had the gun in her hand, pointed at her head. In an instant he was across the room, pulling it from her limp hand. He passed the gun to Bobby who had followed him in and then picked his sister up like a baby and carried her out of the mess.

"Sam?" her voice cracked as her arms wound around his neck for support as they went up the basement stairs.

"I got you," he told her, "I got you, sis," he pulled her tighter, "I'm so proud of you."

And she sobbed into his chest, like she had never sobbed before in her entire life.

Sam took her into the bathroom and lowered her into the tub still fully clothed and started the shower, rinsing as much of the blood off of her as he could, even shampooing her hair. She didn't need to be alone right now, that was for sure. When he got her as clean as he could he left the room only briefly to grab his clothes bag and he came right back in.

"Can you stand?" he asked, taking her hand and starting to pull her up.

With the help of her brother Imogen slowly got to her feet and out of the bathtub, her clothes were soaked and she was shaking uncontrollably while dripping water onto the bathroom floor.

Sam pulled out a shirt and a pair of sweat pants from his bag, "Here," he handed them to her, "You need to change… Do you need help?"

Imogen shook her head and waited until Sam had his back to her before she changed from her soaked clothes into her brother's dry ones that were several sizes too big for her. She left her clothes on the floor and slowly walked passed her brother and out of the room. Sam threw her soaked clothes into the bathtub and followed her out.

"Em," he gently grabbed her arm, "Maybe you should lay down on the couch. Get some rest."

Imogen shook her head slowly, "I've gotta… I've gotta clean up the mess."

"No," Sam said, not letting her go, "Bobby and I are going to take care of that."

"M-my baby," she croaked out, "Don't burn him."

"Imogen," he paused and took a deep breath, "What do you want to do with him."

"I don't know yet," she replied weakly, "Just don't… Not tonight."

"What about Nick?"

She closed her eyes, keeping them closed for a few moments before speaking, "I don't want to think about this."

Sam pulled his sister into a tight hug and nodded, "Okay," he walked her over to the couch and made her lay down, covering her with his blanket, "Please, get some sleep."

Imogen closed her eyes and when she opened them again it was several hours later, the house was silent and dimly lit from the newly rising sun. Sam was sitting upright in a chair, his head hanging at an uncomfortable angle, and he was snoring lightly.

The young girl rubbed her head, remembering the events from just a few hours ago and slowly she sat up, making as little noise as possible so she wouldn't wake up Sam. She silently made her way down to the basement and grabbed the things she knew she would need before sneaking out the back and making her way barefoot to a crossroads that was less than a mile from Bobby's. Imogen had never summoned a demon before, but she knew how and she was determined.

The sun had just started coming up when Dean was nearing Bobby's. He'd been driving for hours, stopping literally only to get gas. He'd forgone bathroom trips by peeing in bottles and dumping them out the window. He was too worried about his family to eat, a first for Dean Winchester.

He still hadn't been able to get ahold of anyone. He's even reluctantly called Imogen's phone, and when he didn't get an answer even from her he really started to worry. Actually, he truly was worried that something had happened to his sister. However, nothing could have prepared him for what had really happened.

Dean was flying down the dirt road that led to the turn for Bobby's. It was the only one in and the only one out. He was really glad the sun had started coming out or he might have run over a girl who was squatting in the cross road. He slammed on his breaks and the car slid a few feet before stopping just in time. He put the car in part and got out, fully prepared to tear this person a new one.

"Hey!" he barked, slamming his door and walking over, "What the hell is a matter with you?"

The girl looked up from the devils trap she had painted on the ground and saw her oldest brother for the first time in months.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she growled, still squatting and putting the finishing touches on her project.

Dean saw his sister, she didn't look the way he remembered. She looked darker and angrier, and the only reason Dean didn't think she was a demon was because she strolled easily in and out of the demon trap she had painted on the ground.

"Are you summoning a demon?" he asked, almost angrily.

"Fuck off," she said, trying to finish the little ritual.

Dean rushed over and pulled her to her feet, "Imogen, what the hell are you doing?"

She roughly pushed him away, "Summoning a demon! What the fuck does it look like?"

He grabbed her wrist as she tried to pull away, "Why? Why are you summoning a demon?" he yelled.

Imogen spit in his face but Dean only tightened his grip, "What the hell is going on? Sam sent me a text telling me to get my ass here, I'm here. What the hell happened?"

Imogen jerked her arm away, "I'll tell you what the fuck happened," she snarled, "While you were off getting laid or drunk or whatever the hell you have been doing for the last six months," she sucked in a breath, trying to hold herself together, "You know, when you promised that you would be here to help me, and yet again broke that promise."

Dean knew something was very, very wrong. He just had no idea what, "Imogen," he looked at her, urging her to speak, his voice a bit softer.

"My son, my Ollie," she swallowed hard, "Six months old… Had his fucking heart ripped out of his chest by a goddamn werewolf!" she screamed in Dean's face.

A chill went through Dean's body, even though he was dressed in several layers of clothes and it wasn't the least bit cold outside, he truly felt like he would never be warm again, "Jesus Christ," he whispered.

"So yeah, I'm gonna summon a fucking demon, and he's gonna bring my baby back to me," she was slowly circling him, but he didn't move. In an instant she had grabbed his gun out of the back of his pants, only then did he flip around to face her.

"What are you doing with that?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

She steadily aimed the gun at him, "If you even think about fucking stopping me I'll put a goddamn bullet in your brain, do you understand me?" her voice was terrifyingly calm.

Another chill went through Dean but he cleared his throat and spoke, "You're not gonna shoot me. I'm your brother."

"You wanna fucking bet?" she asked, "I shot Nick, not five hours ago. Right between the eyes."

"Was he bit?" Dean asked, trying to come up with a plan in his mind to fix this, "You didn't shoot him for no reason."

"No, he was bit. You're right," she nodded confidently.

"Exactly. And you're not gonna shoot me for no reason."

"You try and stop me from bringing my baby back and I'll have a goddamn reason, understand?"

Slowly Dean nodded and didn't make a move towards her, "Imogen, don't do this. I'm begging you. If the demon will even deal with you- hell isn't worth it."

"Was hell worth Sam?" she asked, scratching her head with the barrel of the gun, "Because Sam wasn't even your child and you went for him."

Dean was at a loss for words.

"That's what I thought," she scoffed, turning to finish the spell and almost instantly a demon appeared.

The body the demon was possessing was a tall, dark skinned male, covered in tattoos, "Hey there, pretty thing," he smiled at her before spotting Dean Winchester, "Oh shit," he groaned, "What the hell do you want?"

Imogen splashed the demon with holy water and felt a sense of satisfaction when it screamed, "He didn't summon you, bitch. I did."

"What do you want?" he growled.

"I want to make a deal."

The demon shook its head, "No, not a chance. We're under strict orders, we don't make deals with Winchesters or associates. Hell can't afford to keep giving out freebies."

Imogen snarled and stepped inside the demon trap, flying at him and wailing on him as hard as she could. But even with all her strength she was no match for a demon. He was bigger and stronger than the tiny teenage girl and in an instant he had her pinned against the ground, one hand at her throat squeezing tightly and the other pounding against her face, smiling as more and more blood covered it. Just as Imogen was about to pass out she saw the demons eyes flash and he fell motionless on top of her. Dean rolled him off, stuck Ruby's knife back in his belt, and helped his sister up.

"Why'd you do that?" she demanded angrily.

"Think I was just gonna let a demon kill you?"

"Yes!" she screamed, "I don't fucking need your help! I didn't need it when Ollie was alive and I sure the fuck don't need it now!"

"Why are you so pissed at me?" Dean barked, "You think I wanted this? You think that I don't love you or Ollie? You think I sent a damn werewolf after your baby?"

"You should have been here!" she screamed, "You should have heard the fucking werewolf break in! You should have killed it long before it fucking got to me! If you had been here my baby would still be alive! This is all your fucking fault!"

Then she turned and started walking back down the road to Bobby's, the gravel digging painfully into her feet and blood running down her face from her nose.

Dean stood in the road motionless, watching his baby sister walk away looking so broken. She had screamed all of those horrible things at him and he couldn't even argue. Six months ago he had thrown a tantrum and left, hadn't come back even once. Hadn't even called to talk to her. She was right, if he had been there he could have saved Oliver.

"Cas!" he screamed out when he was sure that Imogen was out of hearing range, "Castiel!"

And in front of him stood the angel in the trench coat, "Hello Dean."

"Cas," he grabbed his friend's shoulder, "Thank God you're here."

"God didn't actively have much to do with it. I heard your prayers," the angel said seriously.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Cas, I need a favor."

"What is it?" he asked.

Dean took a deep breath, "My sister, Imogen."

"What about her?"

"You've got to help her."

"Is this about her son?" Castiel asked.

"You know about that?" Dean asked, "Yes, yes. Bring him back."

Castiel shook his head, "I'm sorry Dean. I can't do that."

"What?" the Winchester barked, "Why the hell not?"

The angel sighed deeply, "Oliver's death is long foretold."

"Long foretold?" Dean scoffed, "Not this damn prophecy crap again, Cas. I thought we decided a long time ago that WE choose our future! When I didn't say yes to Michael and the apocalypse never happened we decided that God's-Will was complete bullshit!"

"I'm sorry Dean," Castiel paused, "I can't help you," and he disappeared.

 **A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for being so supportive and loving of this story. I was worried you would all hate me after that emotional last chapter. So thank you for all of your kind words, they are always so appreciated!**


	31. Chapter Thirty

It didn't take Imogen long to reach Bobby's. The sun was now high in the sky and beating down on her. She was sweating and Sam's baggy clothes were clinging uncomfortably to her. The house looked unchanged. Everything looked exactly the same as it had the night before. How could Imogen feel so changed inside but yet everything else was exactly the same?

Slowly she shook her head and then her gaze landed on Nick's green mustang. It was still parked in the driveway. Next week they had planned to take Oliver on his first road trip. They were going to Mount Rushmore. None of them had seen it before, and sure Oliver would never remember it but they were going to take lots and lots of pictures and tell him years later how he cried the entire car ride. They knew ahead of time the trip was going to be hell, and yet they were still going to go. Nick had already gotten the days off approved at his job.

The car was just sitting there, taunting her. Letting her know that she couldn't have anything. She couldn't have the man that she loved, she couldn't have her child either. Sure she had gotten off to a rocky start with the mothering, but she remembered exactly when she fell in love with her son. He was exactly six weeks old. Imogen was overwhelmed and cranky and Imogen still had the false hope that Dean would be back any day. Oliver had a rough night but it was morning and Nick was downstairs making a bottle. She had changed his diaper and was trying to keep him distracted so he wouldn't scream, so she was making funny faces at him, and he smiled. A real smile. And the two connected, and from then on out things weren't quite so hard. She finally got her moment of overwhelming love for her baby boy.

Now that was all gone, sure Dean was back but sooner or later he was just going to disappear again. Her son was gone, he was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. She should have protected him. She should have disobeyed Bobby and kept the door shut and locked at night so the damn werewolf would have had to break it down. That would have woken her up and she would have killed the son-of-a-bitch before it ever had a chance to get anywhere near her or her son.

Imogen was still standing there, just staring at the car like she expected it to start itself up and drive away. She wished that it would. She wanted no reminders of any of this. Oliver was dead because of her. Nick was dead because of her. For all she knew her mother was dead because of her. There was nothing she could do about that now. But this car was still here and for reasons she didn't know there was a wooden baseball bat in her line of sight.

Later she would swear up and down that she didn't remember picking up the baseball bat. And she didn't remember it. She didn't remember picking it up, gripping it tightly in her hands, and swinging it over and over and over against the once beautiful car. She didn't remember the sound of the window glass shattering under the force of the bat. She couldn't recall violently ripping her son's car seat out of the back of the car and destroying that with the bat either. She had no idea that she screamed horribly while she did any of this. All she remembered was standing next to the car and the next thing she knew she was sitting on the couch in Bobby's living room and Sam was cleaning up her bloody hands.

But for the rest of their lives Sam, Dean, and Bobby would remember it. Remember how lost and hurt and broken the young girl was. The way she stepped on the shattered glass with her bare feet and didn't even flinch. The way she swung that bat again and again and again for what felt like hours. The way she wailed as she fell to her knees, tearing the fabric off of the car seat.

No one stepped in right away. They all wanted to, they all wanted to comfort her. But without saying a word they all knew that they couldn't. She had to do this, she had to do something and if destroying Nick's car was going to help her then they weren't going to stop her.

Once she started slamming her head against the car repeatedly Sam knew he had to step in. He and Bobby had been standing on the porch together, watching her. They didn't want to, but they couldn't just not watch. Sam had no idea that Dean had made it there until he was pulling Imogen away from the car and to her feet, when he caught sight of the Impala and Dean parked about fifty feet away.

Sam got Bobby's attention and pointed to Dean. Bobby nodded and headed in the direction of the oldest Winchester while Sam carried his limp sister into the house and set her back on the couch. It was like the second Sam got to her she stopped screaming, she stopped doing anything. She just sat there and stared off into space while Sam started picking glass out of her skin.

"You made it," Bobby said to Dean, looking the man up and down.

Dean nodded, "I got Sam's text and I got here as fast as I could," he swallowed hard, "Bobby what happened?"

A long and low sigh escaped Bobby, "I don't know," he admitted, "Somehow a werewolf got in, got passed me and Sam, got to the baby. It would have gotten to Imogen too if Nick hadn't been there."

Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath, tilting his head up to the sky and staring into the sun for a few painful moments, "She tried to make a deal with a demon. I pulled up right as she was in the middle of the spell."

"Did you stop her?" Bobby asked, sounding concerned.

"I tried to, but she took my gun and threatened to kill me. I wasn't convinced that she wouldn't. The demon came, but once he saw she was with me he wouldn't deal."

"Thank God," Bobby breathed a sigh of relief.

Dean nodded, "So she attacked him, he would have killed her if I hadn't been there."

"Yeah," Bobby nodded, "That was probably her plan whether she realized it or not."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, she's not stupid. She knows that demons don't deal with Winchesters. So she attacks the demon, he kills her. It would have worked out that way if you hadn't showed up."

"You're probably right," Dean agreed, "I talked to Cas, he said he can't help us. I mean, what's the good of having a damn angel buddy if he won't help?"

Bobby shook his head, "Come on, let's go inside and see if we can do anything."

"I think I'm the last person that Imogen wants to see."

Bobby shrugged, "Family's always got your back, even when you don't want them to."

Dean nodded and followed Bobby to the door, "Have you burned the bodies yet?"

Bobby shook his head, reaching for the door, "Not yet."

The two men walked inside, seeing Sam cleaning up Imogen's bloodied hands. She was staring blankly at the wall.

"Hey, Em," Sam said softly, "This might sting a little," he opened a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it over the cuts on her hands. She didn't so much as blink. He dried her hands and wrapped them up in a bandage.

"It's over," Imogen breathed out as Sam went to work picking the glass out of her feet.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Bobby asked, sitting next to her on the couch and putting a hand on her knee.

"Everything. Everything I love, it's all gone."

"We're still here," Dean interjected, feeling like an idiot after.

Imogen shot Dean a glare before looking down at her hands, "My son is wrapped up in a blanket with his fucking heart ripped out of his chest and you think I care that you're here?" she looked back at Dean, "You're just going to leave again. Dean, you're NOT my family. Sam's my family, Bobby's my family, Nick and Ollie, they were my family, but Dean you aren't shit. So why don't you just leave now and save us all the trouble?"

"Imogen," Sam warned, still doctoring her, "Take it easy. I know you're hurting-"

Dean interrupted his brother, "No, Sam. It's okay," he took a step towards his sister and met her eye, "Imogen," he said calmly, "You can take out every bit of anger and hurt you have on me because I deserve it. You're right, I should have been here. But here's the thing, some wise, old, drunk once told me that family's always got your back. So even if you don't want me here, I'm not going anywhere. Because on the off chance that you need me I've got your back. Understand?"

Imogen just shook her head and pulled her feet away from Sam and stood up, "We'll see how long that lasts," she spat vehemently at her oldest brother, "Okay, let's do this," she said, turning to body.

"Do what?" the man asked, getting to his feet.

"Hunter's funerals. My boys went out like hunters they deserve the proper funeral."

"I'll go cut the wood," Dean said, heading out the door before Imogen could argue.

"I'll help him," Sam said, following closely after his brother.

Imogen turned back to Bobby, "Where are they?" she asked, "The bodies?"

"They're still in the panic room. Sam and I wrapped them up last night after we cleaned up all the blood."

Imogen nodded and headed for the stairs but Bobby gently grabbed her arm, stopping her, "Em, I don't want you going down there. Not right now."

"I want my baby," she told him, "This is the last time I'm going to see him. I don't want to miss a second."

"Let me go get him," Bobby offered, "Please."

Slowly Imogen nodded, sitting back down on the couch and watching Bobby disappear down the stairs.

Bobby didn't want Imogen going down into the panic room and the truth was that they hadn't been able to clean up all of the blood. There were still sheets that were soaked with blood, and blood splatter on the walls that they had been too exhausted to get off, so they had just locked the door and called it a night. Bobby knew he couldn't let Imogen down there, hell he didn't even want to be down there.

So he unlocked the door and stepped inside, pulling the blanket wrapped bundle off of the bed, not unwrapping it to look. He couldn't handle that, and he stepped back out, locking the door behind him and heading back up the stairs. He handed Imogen the baby and then walked into the kitchen where he could give her some privacy while still keeping an eye on her from a distance.

Imogen cradled the small bundle in her arm, only unwrapping the head portion to look at. His eyes were closed, his skin pale, and his body was rigid. It tore her apart inside to look at him like that, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. This would be the very last time that she saw him and she needed to remember it, not matter how badly it hurt.

What took over an hour felt like just a few minutes to Imogen. Sam and Dean walked back inside, both drenched in sweat, and let Bobby know that they were ready for the funeral.

Bobby nodded, "I'll get Nick out of the basement," he said.

Dean shook his head, "No, I got him," Dean said, taking the keys from Bobby and heading down the stairs.

"I'll help him," Sam added, once again following his brother.

Slowly Imogen got to her feet and walked out the front door with her baby in her arms, and over to the place they had set up the wood. She just stood there until Sam and Dean carried the wrapped up Nick out and lay him on the altar they had made. The both of them backed away and Imogen approached, covering Oliver up completely and laying him on his father's chest, before walking back to join the group.

Bobby was the one who started the fire and for a few minutes all four of them stood there watching the bodies' burn. Sam put his arm around his sister.

"You were a good guy, Nick," Dean began, staring directly into the flames, "And Ollie, I'm so sorry that I left so soon after you were born. I loved you. I should have been there for you. I was your uncle and I should have-"

"Shut up," Imogen barked angrily, not looking away from the flames, "Don't you dare talk to my son."

"Imogen," Sam gripped her tighter.

"No, it's okay," Dean nodded, "I love you, Em," he said as he turned and walked away from the fire and back to the house.

Imogen stood and watched the fire for hours until it completely died down. Bobby brought her a chair but she refused to sit down. She stood despite the fact that the glass she still had in her feet was causing her searing pain, she just stood until it was dark outside and the fire was nothing but embers.

And finally she went back inside.


	32. Chapter Thirty-One

"We've got to help her," Sam said, his head in his hands.

"What do you want to do?" Bobby asked, sounding annoyed, "She doesn't talk, doesn't eat, doesn't come out of that damn room. So what the hell can we do?"

"Make her," Dean added, "Make her do stuff. Hell, do something. Maybe we can get her out of the house, take her for a hunt. Maybe that will help."

Both Sam and Bobby looked at Dean like he had just said the stupidest thing in the world.

"What?" the older Winchester asked, "Either of you have a better plan? I mean she's been up in that room for three months now."

Sam sighed and stood up, "I'll go talk to her."

Dean frowned, "It was my idea, why do you get to talk to her?"

"Because she hates all of us, but she hates you the most, ya idjit," Bobby said, "Go on Sam, I'll see if I can't find a case."

Dean watched his brother go up the stairs and then followed Bobby over to the study, "She's gotta forgive me at some point, right?" he ran a hand through his hair, "I mean yeah, I flaked out after the baby was born but it's not my fault what happened to Oliver and Nick."

"I know, Dean," Bobby said, rifling through the papers on his desk, "She just needs more time."

"How much more?" Dean barked, slamming his hands down on Bobby's desk, "I've been here every day since it happened. How the hell long can she hate me for?"

Bobby groaned and looked up at Dean, "Have you ever had to watch your child get their heart ripped out of their chest and then had to shoot your lover in the head?" he asked, "Because I didn't have any kids but I did stab my wife to death… Dean, that's not something you just get over in a couple of weeks."

"Okay," Dean sighed, backing off, "You're right. I just… I wish she would talk to me, hit me, stab me, anything is better than this."

"She's not talking to anyone," Bobby said, picking up a folder and looking through it.

"She talks to Sam."

"Barely, but she does. So at least that's something," Bobby muttered, trying to read the folder he had just picked up.

"I guess," Dean sighed.

Upstairs Sam quietly knocked on Imogen's door but didn't wait for an answer, she never answered or invited anyone in. He'd learned just to come in and start talking. They'd taken the door knob and lock off her door the first time she wouldn't open it for them. They'd had to bust down the door to make sure she was still alive. So Sam would come inside and talk and sometimes she would just sit there and not say anything and other times he could get a word or two, and on good days he got a couple sentences.

"Hey Em," Sam sat on her bed and gently nudged her. She was laying on her stomach under the blanket, "You awake?"

There was a short silence but then she let out a groan so he wouldn't ask again.

Sam let his hand gently rub up and down her back, "So I was thinking," he paused trying to find the right words, "I was thinking we should get out of here for a couple days."

"No," Imogen grunted, pulling the blanket up over her face to block out the sunlight.

"Come on, Em, hear me out," he sighed already feeling a little discouraged, "Let's go hunt. We haven't hunted anything in a really long time."

"I did," she grumbled, "I blew away a potential werewolf."

Sam took a deep breath, he didn't really have a comeback for that, "I think it will make you feel better."

"I don't want to go. Can you just leave me alone?"

Slowly Sam got to his feet and started to head for the door, but then he stopped and turned back around, "No, come on Imogen. Get out of the bed. We don't have to hunt but we have to do something. You can't just lay in bed all day and pretend like the world isn't still spinning."

"Fuck off, Sam," she muttered.

"No, I'm sorry, but I'm not going anywhere," he paused, "I'm sorry that you lost Nick and Ollie. I know that hurts, believe me. Ollie was my nephew and it hurts so damn bad," he gently slapped his hand against his chest to emphasize his point, "And when I lost Jessica," he took a deep breath, "If it hadn't been for Dean being there to pick up the pieces then I would have lost my damn mind. I wouldn't be here," he walked over and pulled the blanket off of her, "I'm not going to let you just lay up in this room and waste away. It's not going to happen," he grabbed her arm and gently pulled her up, "Now, go take a shower, get dressed, get packed, and let's hit the damn road."

Imogen glared at her brother for a few moments, "Is Dean coming?"

"This was Dean's idea," Sam admitted, not sure if he felt strong enough for another pep-talk.

Imogen just rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Sam waited until he heard the water running to head back downstairs.

"Well," he said, approaching Dean and Bobby, "She's in the shower. So even if we don't make it out the door today that's a step in the right direction, right?"

Bobby nodded, "Baby steps, boys. Maybe we can get her to eat something."

"I hope so," Sam replied, "She's nothing but skin and bones. I accidentally walked in on her changing the other day and you can literally count her ribs."

Dean scoffed, "How can she be my sister?" he asked, "I literally eat non-stop."

Sam glared at his brother, "This isn't funny Dean."

The older Winchester shook his head, "No. It's not."

Bobby sighed, "I'm gonna go out and get a pizza. She'll be more likely to eat if it's something she likes," he said, "You two hold down the fort," he headed for the door but then stopped to add something, "And whatever you do, don't upset her," he was looking at the both of them but they all three knew he was talking to Dean.

Dean sighed and sat down on the couch, waiting for Bobby to leave before he said anything, "So how'd you convince her?" he asked his brother.

Sam shrugged, "Didn't really give her a choice. Told her she needed to get out of bed. I told her that you didn't let me fall off the face of the Earth after Jess died and I wasn't going to let her either."

"Sounds like solid advice," Dean nodded, "Did she say anything about me?"

"No, not really. Well, she asked if you were coming on the hunt with us."

"Ah, lemme guess. She said if I was going that she wasn't," he scoffed, "Typical teenager."

"Actually she didn't say that, Dean. She didn't really say anything. I told her the hunt was your idea and she just walked off. Went to the bathroom."

Slowly Dean nodded, "So you think maybe she hates me a little less?"

Sam shrugged, "Like Bobby said, baby steps."

A few minutes later Imogen was walking down the stairs into the living room, "So you guys got a case or what?" she asked.

Both Sam and Dean turned to face their sister. Her shirt hung very loosely on her body and her jeans did the same, they would have fallen off of her if she hadn't tied a piece of rope around them to keep them up. Her once long, blonde hair had also been cut to hand just below her ears. She looked like an entirely different person.

"Hey Em," Dean said, awkwardly getting to his feet, "Uh, yeah. There's a haunting in Denver."

"Colorado?" she asked, as if there was no animosity between the two.

"Uh, yeah," he scratched his head, "Hey, uh, Imogen I just wanted to say-"

"No," Imogen cut him off, "Look Dean, I don't care what you have to say. I really truly don't. So just keep your mouth shut and let's keep this strictly business and we won't have a problem. Got it?" she said coldly.

Slowly Dean nodded and looked away from his sister, "Got it," he muttered, heading out the front door alone.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Sam asked his sister.

Imogen shook her head, "I'm not going to pretend like I forgive him," she said, "If that's what you were hoping for then maybe I should just go back upstairs."

Sam shook his head violently, "N-no!" he stuttered out, "Sorry. Just business. I get it."

"Just with him, Sam," she assured him, "You're still my brother."

"Yeah, well so is Dean. Look, I know he took off and I know that you're still pissed at him but you can't blame him for what happened."

"Oh I don't," she said calmly, "Don't get me wrong, I blamed him for it initially. But here's the thing, he's not worth the time. I'm not going to let myself get attached to someone who's just going to lie and hurt me."

Sam sighed and nodded, "Okay Em, whatever you say."

"So Denver," she said.

"I actually don't know anything about the case," Sam admitted, "You'll have to ask Dean, or Bobby when he gets back."

"Where's Bobby?" she asked, "Beer run?"

"Yeah pretty much," Sam said.

Slowly Imogen walked into the kitchen and looked in the fridge, "Speaking of beer, we're out," she sighed, shutting the door back and walking over to Bobby's desk where a bottle of whiskey sat. Slowly she unscrewed the cap and pressed the bottle to her lips.

In an instant Sam ripped the bottle away from her, "Are you nuts?" he asked, "You can't drink this."

Imogen narrowed her eyes, "Why not?" she asked, "Don't say it's because I'm too young. Because most people my age haven't gone through half the shit I have gone through. I think I deserve a drink every now and then."

Sam rolled his eyes, "First off, you are too young," he paused to check his watch, "Second, it's barely noon. When was the last time you ate anything?"

She shrugged her shoulder, "When did you bring me those Reese's cups?" she asked, "I ate those."

"Three days, Em. You haven't eaten anything in three days."

"I'm not hungry," she groaned, "Are you just gonna bitch at me?" she asked, "Because I'm really not down for that."

"I'm not bitching at you!" Sam exclaimed, "I'm just worried about you. We're all worried about you. You weigh like five ounces now, you have to eat."

Imogen turned so her back was facing Sam and she was facing Bobby's desk. There were tons of papers strewn about the old man's desk, and the more Sam talked the more pissed off that Imogen got, so in one fast swoop everything was off the desk and flying across the room.

"I'm sorry that I'm not dealing well!" she screamed, flipping around to lock eyes with her brother, "I'm sorry that I'm not fucking happy and chipper all the damn time! I'm sorry that most days all I can see is some fucking monster eating my son's heart and it makes me so unbelievably sick to my stomach that I can't even consider eating without gagging! I'm sorry if my grief makes you uncomfortable! But that's just the way it fucking is. And if you don't like it then why the hell did you invite me to go on this hunt with you?"

Sam took a sharp breath in. His sister's words stung. She'd never been that brutally honest about how she was dealing before and it broke his heart, "Em," he took a deep breath, "You know what the worst part about losing Ollie was for me?" he paused to collect himself, "The worst part was, I didn't just lose my nephew. I lost my baby sister too. The one I swore to protect no matter what," he swallowed hard, "I didn't want to lose my sister. I don't want to lose you."

Slowly she shook her head, "Well, too late for that Sam. That stupid, naive little girl that you knew- she's fucking gone," her voice was low, "It's just the broken outer shell left. Get used to it… Or don't. Your choice."

"Bobby's bringing pizza," he told her without looking at her, "Eat some of it, you're gonna need your strength if you're getting back into the game," he muttered, heading out the door the same way that Dean had left.

Imogen sighed and walked back up the stairs to her room, throwing a couple of things into a duffel bag. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, something that she had been avoiding at all costs. Sam was right, she looked like absolute hell. She barely even recognized herself. This was even worse than when she had all those boxes of her mother's things. However, this time there wasn't going to be some knight in shining armor that came to save her. She was on her own and she was going to have to save herself.


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two

As if nothing had ever changed Dean drove, Sam sat up front, and Imogen kicked back in the backseat of the Impala. However, things were different. There wasn't the usual back and forth bickering between them. No stupid jokes or lame stories to pass the time. No one (meaning Imogen) insisted they play 'I Spy' for hours on end. It was just mostly silent except for the occasional questioning if someone was hungry or needing a bathroom break. So sure the seating arrangement was the same, but everything else was much different.

After the third or fourth pit stop Imogen found herself dreading getting back in the car. She didn't want to sit for several hours and just stare blankly out the window, but what other choice did she have? So she got back in the car and they drove. The worst part of it was that she didn't have anything to entertain herself with, no books, no cellphone, nothing. Literally all she could do was stare out the window.

She did manage to get some sleep. Just riding in the car seemed to drain her after all those weeks of doing nothing but laying around the house and sleeping she was actually doing something and it was exhausting.

Imogen was completely passed out in the backseat of the Impala when Dean pulled into a dingy Denver truck stop diner early that morning. Sam reached into the back to gently shake his sister awake, "Hey, Em," he said, "You hungry?"

"No," the girl rolled over and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Come on, Em," Sam urged, "Let's get some food and then we can get on the case."

A loud groan escaped the young girl as she sat up and got out of the car. She ran her hands through her hair and did her best to shake off the sleepiness that overcame her.

"You good?" Dean asked, "And I ask that on a strictly professional level," he said, shutting the door to the Impala, "Gotta know if my coworkers are in tip-top shape."

Imogen just rolled her eyes and headed inside of the restaurant, finding a table and sitting down at it, her brothers following close behind. A waitress brought them menus and took their drink orders before walking away, obviously unhappy with her job.

"Hey," Imogen looked at Dean for the first time since they had left Bobby's, "Is the car unlocked?"

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because I need to get something out of it."

"What do you need out of the car?" he asked, attitude in his voice.

"What the fuck does it matter?" she kept her voice low, but her annoyance was obvious.

"Well, like you said. Just business between us. That's my car out there, you need something out of it that's my business."

"I need my fucking tampons, Dean," she growled, "You wanna go get them for me?"

Dean sighed and dug the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to his sister.

"Thanks," she muttered, catching them and then turning to head out of the building.

Once Imogen was out of sight Sam turned to face his brother, "Why do you have to pick at her?" he demanded, "Why couldn't you just give her the damn keys? You really think she's gonna steal the car?"

Dean shrugged, "Well…. I mean she's done it before."

"Yeah, but she did that without the keys. So do you really think she'd ask for them instead of hotwiring it?"

"I guess not," he played with his silverware.

"So then why are you picking at her? You're just going to piss her off more."

"Well, then at least she's talking to me."

"Not really the best approach, Dean."

Outside Imogen had really just wanted an excuse to get away from her brothers. But once she was out in the car and realized that they couldn't see her she felt a little free, and the idea of freedom gave her an idea. She unlocked the driver's door of the car and sat behind the wheel. She had no intention of stealing the car, hell she hadn't planned on anything she was about to do, but she reached under the seat and pulled out Dean's lock box. She popped the lock and inside there was a gun, cash, several credit cards, and a fake ID for each one of them. She grabbed everything except Sam and Dean's fake ID's and shoved it into her duffel bag. She put the box back under the seat and got out of the car, closing the door behind her.

Still covered by darkness, as it was early and the sun hadn't started coming up yet, she dashed across the parking lot and hid her bag in a cluster of bushes before heading back inside the restaurant. She slapped the keys down on the table in front of Dean and sat directly across from her brothers.

"Have they taken our order yet?" she asked.

Sam shook his head, "Nope," he was still looking over the menu before folding it and putting it back on the table, "Okay, so this case. I was digging into it a little, and it sounds pretty weird. Some interviews I read kinda seem like ghost possession."

"Ghost possession?" Dean repeated, "I dunno, Sammy. That's pretty rare."

"Yeah, rare. But it's not unheard of," Sam insisted, "Seriously, the vics mentioned like a black ooze coming out of them after the ghosts were blown away. All I'm saying is I think this is more than just a simple haunting," Sam turned to Imogen, "What do you think, Em?"

Imogen just shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever you think," she said

Imogen felt relieved when the waitress had finally made her way back to the table, setting coffee in front of each of them. She immediately took a drink, it tasted awful but it was also cold so she was able to drink it all pretty fast.

"What can I get you guys to eat?" she asked, looking annoyed at her paper and pencil.

"I'll have tall stack of pancakes with a side of sausage," Dean smiled at the woman.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Scrambled eggs and toast for me."

The waitressed turned to look at Imogen who had already downed her entire cup of coffee, "And for you?"

"Uh," she scratched her head, "Gimme a cheddar omelet with a side of bacon and wheat toast."

The waitress nodded and walked away from the table without another word.

Imogen waited a few minutes, trying to put a plan into action, "Listen," she got both of her brothers attention, "I've got kind of an upset stomach, so I'm gonna go use the bathroom. I might be in there for a bit, so don't worry."

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just not used to road food so much anymore. It's really messing with me," she said, getting up from the table and heading to the bathroom. She was really relieved that there was a window in there that she easily climbed out of. The sun was just now coming up and she made her way across the parking lot, picked up her bag she had hidden and walked around for a few minutes. She had a plan, she was just nervous about it.

There were rows and rows of semi-trucks lined up and several drivers were just waking up and getting ready to get on the road. Imogen scoped out these men and picked out on that was standing alone and didn't look too trashy. Slowly she made her way over to him.

"Hey," she smiled.

The older man pulled a cigarette from his mouth and smiled back at her, "Hey there."

"So are you short distance or long?" she took a small step towards him.

"Long haul. Headed to Tennessee."

"Really?" she asked as if what he said was the most interesting thing in the world, "Want company?"

The truck driver laughed, "How old are you, sweetheart? Where's your mama and daddy?"

"Nineteen," she lied, "And who the hell knows," she shrugged.

"Lemme see your ID."

Imogen nodded and pulled the ID from her bag and handed it over to him.

The man spent a few moments studying the information before handing it back to her, "Okay, Jennifer. Why do you wanna ride along with me?"

Imogen shrugged, "I'm heading that way anyways. Figured we could both use the company?"

He spent a few minutes studying her before holding out his hand for her to shake, "I'm Greg. Nice to meet ya', why don't you hop up in my rig, I'm gonna take a piss and grab something to eat and we can hit the road."

Imogen smiled and nodded, getting in the truck that he pointed to. She lay her bag in the back where it would be out of sight and then she crouched down as much as she could in the truck. She hadn't been gone too long at this point, but she didn't want Sam and Dean to catch her before she'd even left the parking lot.

It was almost a half an hour before Greg got back to the truck, but he did and he came bearing very good smelling food.

"So, there's two guys in there going fucking crazy," Greg stated, "One big and tall, lots of hair. One with a little less hair. Showed me a picture of a girl, said they were looking for her."

Imogen swallowed hard, "Yeah?"

"You in trouble?" he asked.

Slowly she nodded, hoping to play the sympathy card. Make Greg think he was saving her.

Greg put the car in gear and they pulled out of the truck stop diner and were flying down the highway. For the first hour she was so shaken that all she could do was stare into the rearview mirror to check and make sure that the Impala wasn't following behind them.

"Who are those guys?" Greg asked after she had settled down a bit.

"Uh," she cleared her throat, "Business associates."

Greg nodded, "So they're your pimps."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've seen it before," he told her, "Many times. The way those guys were so frantic to find you, and sweet heart you're beautiful. I bet men pay top dollar to have you. I was pretty sure they were pimps, that's why I didn't rat you out."

"Thanks," Imogen nodded, "I really appreciate that. Been trying to get away from them for a while, they keep finding me. Just wanna put my past behind me."

"So," he paused, "Where are you going?"

Imogen hesitated, she really didn't want to answer this question. She really just wanted to be quite, but she also wanted to stay on this man's good side, "Find my family, hopefully. Got taken away from them a long time ago. I wanna find them."

"Well, I'll be they'll be thrilled to see you. I'm only going as far as Tennessee though, anything further than that you're on your own."

"Thanks," she nodded, "That's a big help."

Meanwhile Sam and Dean were going absolutely nuts. They hadn't realized that Imogen wasn't coming back until after the waitress had brought their food and both Sam and Dean had finished their plates.

"She sure has been in the bathroom a long time," Sam noted as he sipped on his coffee.

"You worried?" Dean asked, "It's not like you've never spent a long time in the bathroom you gassy son-of-a-bitch."

Sam frowned, "Seriously Dean, someone should go check."

"You wanna go check the women's room? You go right ahead, I'll stay behind and bail your ass outta jail afterwards."

Sam sighed and stood up walking to the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms were located. He was glad to see a woman heading into one and he stopped her before she went in, "I'm sorry to bother you miss, but could you check to see if my sister's in there? Her name is Imogen."

The woman nodded and went inside. Sam waited patiently until she came back out and let him know that there was absolutely no one else inside the bathroom. Slowly Sam made his way back over to Dean, and sat across from him.

"She's not in there," Sam told his brother.

Dean's face hardened, "You're kidding, right?"

Sam shook his head, "No, she's not. There's no one in there."

"Did you call her phone?" Dean asked.

"No, Dean. She doesn't have a phone."

"Why the hell not?" he barked.

"I don't know. She broke her last one and we never left her alone long enough for her to need one so I didn't bother getting her a new one."

"You've gotta be kidding me," the older Winchester barked, standing up and throwing money down on the table to pay the bill before heading out to the car to look inside, "Her stuff is gone," he looked to Sam who had followed him out, "She took the hell off," he shook his head.

"Oh God," Sam groaned, his stomach doing a back flip.

Dean opened up the Impala and noticed his lock box wasn't completely tucked under the seat. So he pulled it out and opened it up, "She cleaned us out!" he yelled, "This can't be happening. She took EVERYTHING."

Sam frowned, "There were credit cards in there, right? So we'll be able to track her."

"Yeah, we will," Dean nodded, glaring at her brother, "But there was also about two grand in cash, so who the hell knows how far she'll get before she uses one."

"Okay, look let's just walk around and ask people if they've seen her. Do you have a picture of her?"

Dean shook his head, "No, why would I?"

Sam sighed, "Okay, I'll text you one. I have one of her and Oliver. Show it to people and ask if they've seen her."

The two boys ran around like crazy asking everyone in sight if they had seen her. All of them were absolutely no hope.

"I can't believe this!" Dean yelled, and hour later after they had both checked every square inch of the place, even checked over video camera footage. The only thing they saw with her on it was her getting her things from the Impala. They didn't see anything else.

"Why not?" Sam asked, "I mean hell, you taught her that it's okay to run away without a word. Now you know how she feels."

"Oh so this is my fault?" Dean barked.

"This whole thing is your fault!" Sam barked back, "You wanted to go on this stupid hunt, you wanted to pick at her about going to the Impala. Maybe if you hadn't been such a dick she wouldn't have taken off again!"

Dean just shook his head and got into the Impala, Sam copied him and without a word the two were back on the road. No leads and no way of knowing where their sister was. They had to find her and they had to do it fast, that was the only thing they would agree on.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three

**A/N: I wanna apologize for how long it's taken me to get a new chapter out. I plan on updating more regularly in the future. Thank you for sticking around!**

It took Imogen and Greg almost three days to reach Tennessee. He let her know that normally it wouldn't have taken so long but on the second day of their journey they had gotten a flat tire and it took them hours to get it fixed and taken care of, so they lost most of a day's travel. But finally they did make it there and the two stopped off at a diner for a last meal together. After they ate he was going to bed for the night and she was leaving. They had already discussed it.

"You know, Jen," Greg began, using the fake name that Imogen had given him, "I've enjoyed having you around."

Imogen nodded, "You're pretty good company yourself, Greg," that was a lie. He played horrible music, stunk to high heavens, and he touched her every chance that he got.

Greg smirked at her, "So what's your number? Maybe we can meet up again sometime."

"I don't have a phone," she told him, "But you can give me yours and the second I get one I'll give you a call," again she was lying, but she was doing it convincingly.

Greg nodded, finishing off his food and wiping his mouth on a napkin before pulling out a pen from his jacket and writing his phone number down on the soiled cloth and passing it to her.

Imogen folded up the napkin and stuck it in her pocket before taking the last bite of her own food, "I really can't thank you enough, Greg. You really saved my ass."

"Saving that sweet ass was my pleasure," he stood up and laid the money for the food out on the table, "Come on, let's go get your stuff and say our goodbyes," he winked, helping her to her feet.

Hesitantly she followed the man back out to his truck, she had a really bad feeling about what he meant when he said 'goodbyes'. But she needed her stuff and the money inside her duffel, so she went. He helped her up into the truck and climbed in after her. Quickly she picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before she turned and smiled at him.

"Really, Greg. Thank you. You're a very kind man."

Greg nodded, stepping close to her, "You're a sweet young lady."

"I should… I should really be going," Imogen told him.

Gently the older, sweaty man grabbed her arm, "Come on, sweetheart. Don't I get a little thanks?"

Imogen raised her eyebrow, "What do you want?" she asked calmly, "I don't have any money," again another lie, but she really didn't have any to spare.

He shook his head, "No, I don't want your money," he slipped her bag off of her shoulder and leaned in to kiss her neck.

It made Imogen's skin crawl having this man touch her, having him kiss her. She wanted to pull the gun out of her bag and shoot him right then and there, but truth be told he had brought her across the country she shouldn't have expected him to do it for free.

"Oh, that," she tried to sound sexy, but instead her voice shook a little, "Oh, okay."

Greg smirked, "Good, I mean it's not like it's something you haven't done before," he said, thinking Imogen had been a prostitute before they met, "I've been dying to see that body since I first laid eyes on you."

Slowly Imogen nodded. She faked a smiled and tried to relax, "So, uh, how do you wanna do this?"

Greg pushed her down onto his little bunk in his truck and crawled on top of her. Except for partially lowering his pants he kept his clothes on but it didn't take long before he had Imogen completely stripped down. While he was sweating and grunting and violating every inch of her body all Imogen did was lay there. She laid there and was very grateful that Sam had insisted on taking her to the clinic to get her a birth control implant when Nick moved it. One less thing she had to worry about because this man didn't bother to even offer to use a condom, nor did he show any restraint when releasing inside of her.

Imogen was unbelievably grateful that it didn't take him long to finish. But it didn't end there, when he rolled off he let his hands roam her body, staring intensely at it. She felt disgusting. She wanted out of this truck but it was another ten minutes before he passed out and she was able to slip out of his grip and get her clothes on. He rolled over in his sleep so that he was facing away from her and she noticed his wallet had fallen out of his back pocket. She didn't hesitate to take it, and then she was out of the truck and heading down the road into the nearby town. She needed to get as far away as fast as possible before he woke up and noticed it was missing.

Luckily it was dark outside and she quickly found a car that was unlocked. She climbed inside, tossing her bag in the passenger's seat, and in just a few moments she had it hotwired and was driving it away. There hadn't been too many times in Imogen's life where she had needed to steal a car, but each time was more exciting than the last.

Imogen knew the general direction that she needed to be going so she drove. She drove until she crossed the Tennessee/ Georgia state line and then she followed signs for Atlanta. She hadn't been to Atlanta since she lived there with her mother. Today she was going back to her childhood home. She had the address written down on a piece of paper. She had gotten it off of her birth certificate before Bobby had taken all the boxes of her mother's stuff away. He had initially told her that he had burned it all, but after Oliver and Nick were gone he gave it all back.

When Imogen had agreed to go on the hunt with her brothers she hadn't intended on taking off. In fact leaving didn't even occur to her until Dean had made such a big deal about her getting the keys to the Impala. But once she had stolen the money and was out the bathroom window there was no turning back, and she didn't want to. Both Sam and Dean had abandoned her more than once, now it was their turn to see how it felt.

When the car was running low on gasoline she pulled into a gas station and filled up, paying cash inside. Then she dug around in the car and was really relieved when she found a GPS system. Sure Imogen could read a map, but this thing would make her life a hell of a lot easier. She plugged it in and entered the address. Now she was about two hours away so she drove straight through. She got to the town and ditched the car. She wanted to check into a motel but it was too late for late check in and too early for regular check in. So she walked around the town for a bit. She grabbed a bite to eat, changed her clothes and rinsed off in a bathroom, and then found her way to the street of her old home.

Imogen checked that the numbers on the piece of paper matched up with the ones on the house. But she didn't need to check. She recognized the place. It was almost like a surreal dream seeing it again for the first time in a very long time. She stood outside of the house just staring at it. It hadn't been kept up over the years, not at all. No one had lived in it for quite some time and there was a worn down for sale sign in the front lawn, but it was the same house.

"Excuse me."

Imogen snapped out of her daze and turned to see who was talking to her. Much to her surprised she recognized the woman, or at least thought she did. If this was the same woman she used to babysit Imogen, she had the best cookies in the world. Imogen didn't want to blow her cover though, so she had to say something before the woman grew suspicious.

"Oh, hi," she stuttered, "Do you live here?"

The woman shook her head, staring hard at Imogen, "Do you?"

"No," Imogen chuckled, "Sorry, I'm Jennifer Clifton," she reached out her hand to shake the woman's, "I'm a criminal justice student at the local college. My professor wanted us to all look into old cases from around here and write a paper on it. I found one about a mother and daughter," she lied, surprised at how well she was able to talk out of her ass.

"I'm Roberta Jenkins," the woman introduced herself, "I knew the people you were talking about. Good people. Such a sad story."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah," she said, "I bet. Animal attack, right?"

The woman's face twisted in confusion, "What are you talking about? Maybe you're confused. This was no animal attack, it was a murder."

Imogen's eyes widened to the size of plates, "Oh, I guess I was misinformed," she bit her lip, "Ms. Jenkins, I don't suppose you have time to sit down and talk to me about the case? A first person interview could do wonders for my grade."

"That sounds fine," Ms. Jenkins nodded feebly, "Would you like to come in? I live right next door."

Imogen nodded and followed Ms. Jenkins inside.

"Have a seat anywhere," she motioned to the living room, "Can I get you something to eat or drink? My grandkids are coming over this afternoon, so I have chocolate chip cookies if you're interested."

"Oh yes please," Imogen requested eagerly, she wanted to taste, she had to know for sure.

Ms. Jenkins disappeared but came back a few minutes later with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, "I generally don't allow you youngsters to have cookies for breakfast, but sweetie you're just skin and bones so I think they'll do you some good."

Imogen smiled and grabbed a cookie off the plate and took a bite. Almost instantly her mouth was filled with the taste of nostalgia. These were exactly like she remembered.

"Ms. Jenkins," Imogen said as she swallowed the cookie, "These are amazing."

The woman smiled, "Thank you, you're too kind."

"So about the case… You're sure it wasn't an animal attack?"

"Oh absolutely," she nodded, "I was really close to Lucy Remington and her daughter Imogen. Sweet little girl, always getting into things. In fact, I was a regular babysitter for her while her mom was at work."

Imogen smiled a little but didn't interrupt.

"Anyways, so a day or so before Lucy was murdered these two large men were lurking around her place. I really only remember them because I was supposed to watch Imogen that day but Lucy called me and said she wasn't going into work and that I need not worried. Now, I've always been a nosy woman so I watched out my window and saw them. She welcomed them in so I thought I didn't have anything to worry about. But the next night they came back. I thought I saw one of them slip a gun into his pocket at his car before they both headed into the house together. Right before dark the taller of the two men carried the little girl outside and put her in the car, driving off I guess around the block. Not long after that I heard a gunshot and the other man came outside, the first man picked him up in the car and they were gone."

Imogen felt her body start to shake. Lies, Sam and Dean had told her nothing but lies for years.

"I had my teenager phone the police and I went next door to check out what had happened. To this day I still haven't been able to shake what I saw from my mind. Lucy was laying on the kitchen floor, she was still gurgling blood when I found her," Ms. Jenkins took a deep breath, "I did everything I could but I couldn't save her."

Imogen bit her lip and closed her eyes. She hadn't seen it but the image was there in her head, "Uh," her throat was dry so she took a drink of the milk she'd been given, "Did they find out what happened to the little girl?"

Ms. Jenkins shook her head, "No, they didn't. Police suspect that Lucy probably had some debts or issues with the mafia so they killed her and took her daughter. They figure they probably pimped the little girl out or even just killed her too. But there was no leads, nothing at all."

"Do you have any idea?" Imogen managed to ask.

"No, not really. Lucy was the sweetest woman ever. I don't know why anyone would ever want to hurt her, or her beautiful little girl," the old woman sighed sadly, "You know, you actually look a little bit like her. Crazy, huh?"

Imogen slowly nodded, "Yeah, crazy… Hey, do you think I could take a look inside the house? I mean, it doesn't look like anyone lives there anymore."

"No, no one has lived there since Lucy and her daughter. But yeah, you could probably get inside if you know how to pick a lock. I won't call the police on you so long as you promise not to vandalize anything."

"Oh no. I would never do that," she paused, "Hey, would you want to come with me? Maybe tell me about the house? Which room belonged to who, stuff like that?"

Ms. Jenkins nodded, "I would be willing," she said, slowly standing up, "Let's go do that now."

Imogen smiled and the two walked over there together. Luckily Imogen did know how to pick a lock and in just a few moments the both of them were inside the house and Ms. Jenkins started to give her a tour. But she didn't actually need it because she was home. She knew this place top to bottom. She knew that at the top of the stairs the second door on the left was her bedroom. The walls had been painted a light purple and the floors were hardwood, but she'd had an oval shag rug to keep her feet warm. A small, see-through curtain had hung over her bed because it made her feel like a princess. In the back of her closet there was a little drawing on the wall that she had done in permanent marker and then hid from her mom because she didn't want to get in trouble.

She remembered one morning being crouched at the top of the stairs after her mother had sent her out of the room. Sam and Dean were talking to her, they were having a very serious conversation. However, at the time Imogen didn't understand what they were walking about just that it was serious. All she could remember was how serious everything was, not anything specific.

One thing she knew for sure though, Dean had murdered her mother and he and Sam covered it up. Lucy hadn't been attacked by a werewolf, Dean had shot her. Imogen didn't know why, but she was going to find out. For now she needed to get the hell out of that house. They hadn't gone beyond the downstairs, but Imogen couldn't take anymore.

"Uh," she shifted uncomfortably, "I have to go, I'm sorry," she told Ms. Jenkins, "Thank you so much for your time."

Ms. Jenkins slowly nodded, "Are you okay, hun?"

Imogen nodded, "No, I'm fine. I just forgot that I had an appointment," she started to turn to leave.

Ms. Jenkins stopped her, "If you have any more questions feel free to stop by and talk to me. I'm almost always home."

Again Imogen nodded before turning and running out of that house and down the street. Her duffel bag bounced against her hip painfully. She made it three blocks before she collapsed on the sidewalk, breathless. Why had she never done any kind of research on her mother? Oh that's right, she didn't know more than her first name until just over a year and a half ago. She hadn't known where she was from. Nothing. Sam and Dean had hidden everything from her, and now the truth was coming out. They had murdered her mother. What else had they lied to her about?

Once she had caught her breath she wandered around until she found a library. Thankfully it was open, but it was also pretty empty other than the staff. Imogen started with the archives of old newspapers that they had. She didn't find much more information there than had been given to her by Ms. Jenkins.

However when she looked it up on the internet she found tons of information, but nothing conclusive. No one could come up with a real answer for why her mother had been murdered. There was lots of speculations in an old cold case website, but people had stopped talking about it years ago. Imogen and her mother were just a failing memory, soon to be forgotten.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four

"It's been almost a week!" Dean yelled, "Where the hell is she and why hasn't she called us to let us know she's safe?"

Sam rolled his eyes, clicking through the credit card files on the computer for the hundredth time that day just to make sure that none of them had been charged, "Probably because she doesn't want to be found. I mean hell Dean, you don't rob your brothers and run off so that they will track you down."

"Well, she's gotta know what this would do to us!" the older Winchester barked, "She's gotta know it would drive us crazy. Do you think she planned this? To just take off without a word."

"I don't know Dean, but I promise the second I know something you'll know it too. I'll get an alert the as soon as she uses one of the credit cards she stole. Okay? So just chill out and get off my back."

Dean glared at his brother and stormed out of the motel. Sam listened as the Impala started up and tires squealed out of the parking lot. Sam just sat there, staring at his phone. Hoping it would ring and that his little sister would call and let him know that she was all right. This was absolute torture.

Sam and Dean had been in this little town for days, they hadn't left it since Imogen had gone missing, hoping that she was still there or that she would turn up at some point. Sam wanted to file a missing person's report but Dean pointed out that would raise too many questions, and media attention, that none of them would want.

Bobby was back home digging up any and everything he could. None of them were sleeping, they were all running themselves ragged trying to find anything they could on her. But there was nothing, no leads, no motive. And she hadn't talked to anyone.

Even though Dean was still upset with Castiel he asked him for his help. He was willing to ask anyone, he was that desperate. But once again the angel was no help, she was warded against angels just as Sam and Dean had been. So he couldn't track her down.

Sam was sitting in front of his computer, sipping on a beer he had just opened, when for the first time since his sister disappeared there was a clue. There was a charge to one of the credit cards. Immediately he pulled it up. There was a name of a motel on the charge so he searched for it online.

"The Moonlight motel," he muttered to himself, looking for an address which he found, "Atlanta, Georgia," his heart sank. This had to be just a coincidence, she couldn't know that's where she was from… Unless someone had told her. Immediately he picked up his phone and called Bobby.

"Hello?" the man's gruff voice came over the line.

"Bobby," Sam began, "Did you tell Imogen about Atlanta?"

"What? No, of course I didn't. Why would you ask that?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that's where she went."

"Why?" Bobby asked.

"She checked into a motel there with one of our credit cards. Think maybe it's just a coincidence?"

There was a short pause and Bobby sighed, "No, maybe not. Uh, she might have found something in those old boxes of her mom's that told her where she used to live."

"Dammit," Sam growled, "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because, boy, I didn't think about it until you mentioned Atlanta. Why the hell would she go there anyways?"

"I don't know, but we have to find her before she…" Sam paused, "Before she finds out the truth."

"Sam…"

"No, Bobby. Look, I'll call you when we find her. Until then sit tight," Sam hung up the phone and called his brother.

"What, Sam?" Dean grunted into the phone.

"I think I found Imogen, come pick me up now!" he barked over the line and hung up before his brother could respond.

Quickly Sam packed up their stuff and he was waiting outside when Dean pulled into the parking lot. He didn't even give Dean a chance to stop before he was hopping into the car.

"Where is she?" Dean demanded, "What's going on?"

Sam looked solemnly at his brother, "She's in Atlanta."

"Georgia?" Dean asked, looking very confused.

"Yeah, she checked into a motel with one of the credit cards."

"What the hell is she doing there?"

"I don't know Dean! Just step on it! We need to get there."

And so once again Dean was squealing out of the parking lot and they were hauling ass to Georgia.

In the past few days Imogen had gained quite a bit of knowledge about her case. She'd spent hours on the computers at the library and talking to people around town. She'd even gone back to the house to look around. She remembered everything. Even though now the house was falling apart and mostly empty she still remembered it.

Imogen only had one more stop to make before she would be satisfied with her investigation. She made her way to the local police station. If they had any information that she couldn't find online she was interested.

The officer that she talked to was actually one of the men that had worked her mother's case back in the day and he took her back into his office and shut the door. There was a nameplate on his desk, Officer Jack Green.

"So you want to know about the Remington case," he sat behind his desk and motioned for Imogen to sit down.

Imogen nodded, "Yes, I'm writing a paper. Really any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated."

Slowly the man nodded, "Well, I can help you out. But you've got to make it worth my while."

"What do you mean, Officer?"

"Please, call me Jack," he smiled devilishly, "And I think a pretty girl like you knows what she can do to get what she wants."

Imogen felt her stomach do a flip and she wanted to puke. But she couldn't, she had to give this man what he wanted, so she put on a smile and slowly got out of her chair, "Mind if I shut the curtains?" she asked.

Jack smirked and shook his head, "Go ahead."

Imogen closed the curtains, making sure it was completely secure before slowly making her way over to him, he was still in his chair so she rested her hands on his knees and bent forward so that her face was mere inches from him.

"So," she whispered in his ear, "What's a handsome man like you enjoy?"

Jack grunted lowly, "Show me what you got."

 **(A/N: Warning, sexual content)**

If there was one thing that Imogen was good at it was faking confidence to strangers. Inside she could be trembling to the core, but the only people who could see that were her brothers and Bobby. She was a good faker, and right now she was faking her sexy talk, her sexy walk, anything that was sexy she was faking.

"Yes officer," she winked at him, slowly unbuttoning her shirt and letting it fall to the floor, smiling at the officer as she reached behind her back to unclip her bra and gently tossed it at him.

"God damn," the man groaned, pulling her to him and starting to suck on her chest.

Imogen rolled her eyes but faked a moan which just encouraged him to do more. _I really am a whore,_ she thought to herself as the middle-aged man didn't hesitate to run his slobbery tongue over her. She kept up with the fake moans, though she wasn't enjoying this even a little.

Unexpectantly Jack quickly pushed her off his lap and onto her knees in-between his legs. Imogen smiled up at him like it was the highlight of her day, but inside she was dying. Slowly she unzipped his pants and went to work on him with her mouth. He painfully grabbed handfuls of her hair and moved her head up and down how he wanted. Imogen's eyes watered, though not because he was hurting her, but because right then she really hated herself and every decision that got her to where she was right now.

The fact that Imogen was not only smiling, but had tears in her eyes, must have really done it for the officer because he let out a loud grunt as he finished and pushed her off so he could clean himself up. _I REALLY miss Nick,_ she thought to herself as she quickly grabbed her shirt and bra and put them both on, keeping her back to Jack.

Once she was dressed she turned back around and he handed her a box of tissues to clean herself up with. She thanked him and then sat back in her chair, faking calm.

"So," she smiled at him, "What can you tell me about the case?"

"Well, you know the basics right? Mom was murdered, daughter taken and never seen from again?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, a lot of speculation on why but no one I talked to could give a definitive answer."

"Well, I knew Lucy personally. She was a sweet lady, but she was pretty slutty. She liked to go out to the bars and sleep with random dudes. Hell, she and I had a go-round more than once," he smirked a little, "Actually, I think I might have been the father of her daughter. We had been seeing each other pretty regularly and it seemed like as soon as we broke up she was pregnant. But she swore up and down I wasn't the father… Anyways, even after that we still would have our fun every now and again."

Now Imogen was having a really hard time faking her calm. She was also having a really hard time not throwing up. Could she have just given her own father oral sex?

"Okay," Imogen took a deep breath, "So what do you think happened?"

"Well, here's the thing that didn't make the papers. Her house was robbed. A lot of valuables were taken, including her daughter. But that's not the extent of it. Whoever killed her had sex with her."

"Woah," Imogen's voice was barely audible, "Before she died?"

Jack nodded, "Yep. So it's always been my thought that it was a one-night stand gone wrong. We weren't able to match the DNA with anyone though," he shrugged, "That's just what I think though."

"What about her daughter?" Imogen asked, "Do you think she could still be alive?"

"Oh absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind that girl is still out there. Hell, most of the stuff taken from the house were toys and clothes that belonged to the little girl," he shrugged, "Always thought whoever killed Lucy was stalking her for her daughter… But again, just a speculation."

Imogen nodded and stood up, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking, "Thank you Jack. I really appreciate you telling me all this."

Jack smiled and got to his feet, "Anytime sweetheart," he smacked her ass as he walked her to the door, "Come back anytime you want. I could use an assistant like you."

Imogen smiled at him until she turned and walked out of the station and down the street. She needed to be as far away from there as possible. She walked to the edge of town where there was a small forest. She hid behind some trees and fell to her knees, throwing up and shaking violently with sobs.

Sam and Dean, they weren't good people. Sam and Dean were monsters. They had done nothing but lie to her, they murdered her mother and kidnapped her. They might not even actually be her brothers. Did they know that? She was sure they did. Dean had sex with her mother and then killed her, stealing her away and Sam helped him.

She needed a plan, a plan to get rid of Sam and Dean. But it had to be a good one and they couldn't see it coming. She was going to have to pretend like she didn't know the truth. Sam and Dean knew her better than anyone, would she be able to pull it off? She wasn't sure, but when she got back to the motel that night she charged the room to a credit card instead of paying cash this time.


	36. Chapter Thirty-Five

It was well after midnight before Sam and Dean made it to the motel in Atlanta that they knew their sister had checked in at. Dean parked the car in front of the building and turned to face his brother.

"So do we bribe or pretend like we are FBI?" he asked.

Sam sighed, "This place looks pretty sketchy. I don't think they want law enforcement looking around."

Dean nodded and pulled out his wallet, looking inside, "All I've got is a twenty. What do you have?"

Sam looked in his own wallet and pulled out two more twenties, "Here," he said, "You go, I'll wait out here in case she saw us roll in and tries to make a break for it."

"Good thinking," Dean said as he got out of the car and headed inside of the lobby. There was a man sitting at a desk, more or less passed out, "Excuse me," Dean said loudly, ringing the bell that was on the counter.

The employee shot to his feet and wiped away the drool on his chin, "Yes, sorry. How can I help you?"

Dean smiled, "I'm actually looking for someone who checked in here yesterday morning. Tiny girl, short blonde hair, about yay high," he held his hand up to his chest to show about how tall Imogen was.

"Sorry," the worker said, "I'm not really supposed to give out information-" he stopped talking when he saw Dean lay the money on the counter, "Okay, I might know who you're talking about. You got a picture of her so I can confirm?"

Dean nodded and pulled out his phone, showing the man a picture of his sister.

"Yeah, she's here. Checked in about a week ago."

"A week?" Dean asked, "You sure about that? The credit card was just charged last night."

"Yeah, she was paying with cash up until last night," he shrugged, "What do you want her for?"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt her. Just been looking for her for a while. What room is she in?"

The man frowned, "Room sixteen. Don't be causing a scene here. People are trying to sleep."

Dean nodded and didn't say another word as he turned and headed out of the building, motioning for Sam to follow him. Room sixteen was on the bottom floor, very close to where they had parked. Sam picked the lock and in a few seconds the two were inside. The room was dark and briefly Sam and Dean wondered if this had just been a trap and she wouldn't be there, but then they turned the lights on and she was sitting up on the bed and looking at the two of them.

"Imogen," Sam said, rushing over and pulling her to her feet so that he could hug her, "You scared the shit out of me."

Imogen didn't fight him off but she didn't hug him either, "Yeah, I figured," when the hug ended she sat back on the bed, "Dean," she acknowledged the brother who hadn't said a word.

Dean slowly came into the room and shut the door behind him, "You don't seem all that shocked that we're here."

"I'm not," she responded.

"Don't you even want to know how we found you?" Dean asked, slowly approaching.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you two are resourceful. You could find anybody who left any kind of a trail anywhere."

"But you didn't leave a trail," Dean stated, "In fact you covered your tracks damn good. Sam, Bobby, and I, we had no idea where you were. No idea."

"I know," she smirked, "I learned from the best how to hide my ass. Which is why I knew the second I used one of those credit cards you two would come running."

"So what," Dean looked at her, "Did you run out of money?"

"No, I'm not an idiot. I'm not gonna blow through money. Besides, it wouldn't have been that hard for me to make money. I didn't need to use the credit card."

"So you wanted us here… Why?" Dean took another step towards her sister, "Why didn't you just call?"

"Well, I didn't have a phone," Imogen stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"You could have bought one, you've got plenty of cash. So what the hell is with the games?" Dean was obviously annoyed.

"I knew if I called there would just be a big lecture, and I knew you two would get here faster if you thought there was a chance that I could be gone any minute."

"So what, you want a ride home? What's going on? Why the hell did you just take off?"

"Oh I don't know," Imogen got to her feet, standing toe-to-toe with her oldest brother, "Why did you just take off any of the times that you have?"

Dean was silent, staring down at his little sister.

"You explain yours and I'll explain mine. Until then," she shrugged and turned to Sam, "How ya' been Sammy?"

Sam sighed sadly, "A wreck," he said, "So what are you doing here?"

"Yeah," Dean interrupted, "What the hell are you doing in Atlanta?"

Imogen didn't bother to turn to look at Dean, "I found a case."

Both Sam and Dean tensed up, neither liking the sound of that.

"A case?" Sam asked, doing his best to keep his cool, "What kind of a case?" his voice was abnormally high pitched.

"You okay, Sam?" she asked.

"Hey," Dean interrupted, "Screw this case. Let's just go back to Bobby's. He's worried sick."

Now Imogen did turn to glare at her brother, "This is my case, I found it, and I'm gonna work it. You wanna go back to Bobby's be my guest."

Dean flinched a little. He would have had to been stupid to think that was going to work. But he REALLY wanted to get her out of this town.

"What are you hunting?" Sam asked.

Imogen was still looking at her oldest brother, she wanted to torture him, wanted to make him absolutely crazy, "Is there some reason you don't want to work this case?"

"What? No, of course not. I just wanna get you back to where it's safe," Dean tripped over his own words.

"You worried about something, Dean?" she asked, "Because you wanted to take me on the case you found. What's wrong with this case?"

Dean took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool, "You just scared the hell out of me, is all. Had no idea what happened to you."

Imogen smirked and nodded, "It's a shitty feeling isn't it?"

"So what are you hunting?" Dean asked this time, "How can I help?"

"Well, to be honest I'm not really hunting anything."

"What the hell are you doing here then?"

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Don't play stupid Dean."

"Em," Sam gently turned her around, "What do you think you're going to find here? Is being here gonna somehow make you feel better?"

She pulled away from him, "You know Sam, it's a really sucky thing not knowing who you are or where you come from."

"I'm sure it is," he agreed, "But Em, what are you gonna learn here that you don't already know?"

"The truth," she stated.

"The truth is overrated," Dean stated causing his sister to turn back to him.

"So you admit that you haven't told me the truth all these years?"

Dean sighed, "I admit that Sam and I might have left a few things out, but kid we told you what you needed to know."

She wanted to shoot him right then and there in that motel room, but she couldn't. She had a plan and she was going to stick to it as closely as possible.

"Let's go," she said to Dean.

"Go? Go where? Back to Bobby's?"

Imogen shook her head, "To my house."

"Em, I don't even know how to get there."

"I do," she told him, "It's five blocks away."

'Can't it wait until the sun is up?"

"No, Winchester. I want to go now, and either you take me or I'll find someone else who will."

Sam stepped between the two, "No, it's fine. We'll all go together."

Imogen shook her head, "No, I need it to be just me and Dean. Don't worry Sam, there's something I need to do with just you later," she looked back at Dean, "Are we going or what?"

Dean shook his head and headed out the door, Imogen followed behind him.

"I'll just… wait here then," Sam said to himself, looking quite lost and confused.

Dean and Imogen road to the house in mostly silence, other than the directions that she gave him. Though, truth be told he probably could have found it on his own, he'd been there before. It'd just been over a decade.

"Okay," Dean said, pulling into the driveway, "We're here, what do you want to do?"

"Don't turn the car off, you're gonna have to pull into the garage," she hopped out of the car and ran up to the house to open the garage, which she had just broken the lock on earlier for this purpose. She didn't want Ms. Jenkins seeing the car and calling the police.

Dean slowly pulled the impala into the garage and turned it off as Imogen pulled the garage door back down.

"So what are we doing here?" he asked, grabbing a flashlight out of the car and turning it on so that he could see where he was going.

"I wanna show you something," she said, walking ahead of him into the house.

He followed.

"Come upstairs with me," she requested, going up the stairs and into her old bedroom.

"This place has really gone to shit, huh?"

Imogen nodded, "Yeah it has," the two were standing in her room together, "Did you ever see up here?" she asked, "This was my bedroom," she pointed to the window, "My bed was there. I would wake up early in the morning to look out. Sometimes I would see deer in the backyard."

"You remember that?" Dean asked.

"Yep… Funny how coming back to this place can make someone remember so much."

"What else do you remember?" he asked.

"I remember the first time that I met you."

Dean smiled a little, "Oh yeah? Well, right back at you, sister."

Imogen scoffed, "Sister," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head, "Did you know there's a photo of me at the local Walmart here on the missing children's billboard?"

"No, I didn't know that. But I mean, I'm not surprised."

Imogen grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room right next to her's, "This was my mom's room," she paused, "Well, hell you probably already knew that."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he barked.

"Actually, knowing you, you probably didn't even take her upstairs," she shook her head, "Anyways, I used to come in here at night and crawl in bed with her when I had a nightmare. And even sometimes when I just needed someone to be there, she was there and she never complained," she looked at Dean, "It's too bad that every time I've had someone there who loved me, who wasn't going to leave me, that you've ruined that."

"Excuse me?" Dean narrowed his eyes at her.

But she ignored his question, "Come on. Let's go back downstairs."

Dean walked out ahead of her and was standing at the top of the stairs. She had her opportunity and she took it. Imogen pulled the gun out of the back of her pocket, turning it around so that she was holding the barrel in her hand, and she slammed the butt of it against the back on Dean's skull. He tumbled violently down the stairs, and Imogen was quick behind. She made sure that he was breathing before she slowly drug him into the kitchen. She turned on the lantern she had left earlier and tied him up in a rickety wooden chair. She'd had all this planned and put into place earlier that day.

Imogen disarmed her brother, setting all his weapons out of reach before she pulled Dean's phone out of his pocket and opened up his text messages. He had one from Sam that said, 'You need any help?' sent about ten minutes ago.

Quickly Imogen messaged him back, acting as Dean, 'No, we're good. Em's emotional. Stay put. I'll keep you updated'. And she slipped Dean's phone into her pocket so he wouldn't be able to call for help.

Finally Dean started to stir and he opened his eyes.

"Em?" he groaned, "What the hell happened? Did I trip?" he tried to move and realized that he was tied up, "What the hell is going on?"

Imogen smiled at him, it was even more menacing because all that was illuminating her was the light from the lantern. Like a scary movie.

"No, Dean. You didn't trip. I pushed you... Well, not exactly pushed, but you know what I mean."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he groaned, still not processing everything that was going on.

"Well, first I fractured you skull with this baby," she pulled out her pistol to show to him before laying it on the kitchen counter, "And then you fell."

"Why?" he asked again, his voice almost sounding panicked.

"Payback," she said, "For what you did to my mother."


	37. Chapter Thirty-Six

"Look, Em. I don't know what you know or how you found out but just let me explain," Dean began, but was quickly interrupted by a fist slamming into his jaw, "Jesus, Em," he groaned painfully, "Why the hell did I ever teach you how to fight?"

"Save it Dean, you're just going to tell me another lie."

"No!" he barked, "I'll tell you the gods-honest truth. I swear. Just untie me and I'll tell you everything."

"You think I'm a fucking idiot?" she barked at him, "I untie you and you can overpower me. Right now I have you right where I want you."

Dean sighed, "So what? Are you going to kill me? You don't even want to hear what I have to say? You don't want to know what really happened?"

"I already know what happened, Dean."

"See, I don't think you do. Look, it was a hard situation. Your mom tried to call Dad, but Dad was already dead so I came here. Me and Sammy. She told us about a local werewolf-"

Imogen punched him square in the nose this time, "I already know that lie!" she screamed at him, "You are a sick piece of shit, you know that?"

"Imogen," Dean spat out the blood that ran from his nose into his mouth, "Just listen."

"No," she growled, "I'm sick of listening. You told me all these years that my mom was killed by a werewolf. Well, I talked to the police here. Someone who worked the case, my mom was shot on this kitchen floor. She was fucking gun downed," she glared at her brother, "Werewolves don't shoot, they fucking bite and rip and tear."

Dean took a deep breath, "Imogen, Sam and I… We came here when your mom had a case for us. Your mother was killed because of a werewolf."

"No she wasn't," Imogen spat loudly, "She was killed by you. Not before you fucked her though, right?" she shook her head.

"What the hell are you talking about? I never ever touched your mother, not like that."

"Oh sure," she rolled her eyes, "That's not what the police told me. They said that someone fucked her and killed her."

"Well I sure the hell didn't fuck her," Dean barked, "Imogen, I swear to you. I never had sex with your mother."

"Oh, so you did kill her?" Imogen rolled her eyes, "Why, Dean? Why did you murder her and kidnap me?"

"Let me explain," he said again, taking a deep breath, "Sam and I were hunting a werewolf in this neighborhood. There werewolf was your mother. She didn't know, we didn't know until we saw her out prowling. Em, we had to kill her. We didn't have any other choice."

"How do I know you're not lying?" she growled.

"Go to my car. Look in the trunk. Hidden inside a red gun case is an envelope. Go get it and bring it back here."

Without a word Imogen walked out of the room and into the garage. It took her a few minutes of searching before she found the envelope Dean was talking about. She headed back into the kitchen and showed it to him, "This?" she asked.

Dean nodded, "Open it and read it."

Slowly Imogen turned the envelope over and opened it up, pulling a letter out and unfolding it. She shined her flashlight on it and looked down at the small, obviously rushed, handwriting.

 _Imogen,_

 _I'm sorry that I don't have more time to write this for you, but your brothers will be coming any minute now to pick you up and I don't want to waste our last little bit of time together. I just want you to know that I love you so very much and I'm so sorry that our time together was so short. I hope that when you receive this letter you still remember me fondly._

 _I want you to know that I've come to terms with my death, and I don't want you to ever blame your brothers for doing their job. Please, your brothers are good men, some of the best that I have ever met. One day they are going to save the world, I really believe it._

 _I wish I was going to be there to watch you grow up, but I can't. So just know that if there is an afterlife that I'm going to be waiting for you there. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone- please always remember that._

 _Anyways, take care of your brothers and let them take care of you. If you're still as stubborn as you are now I know you'll want to do everything on your own, but you don't have to. You have your family. Sam and Dean are your family, and family means everything._

 _Be happy. All I want is for you to be happy. I love you._

 _-Mom_

Imogen wiped angrily at a tear that had dripped down her cheek, "Why are you just now giving this to me?"

Dean sighed, "She asked me to give it to you when you needed it the most."

"So why not when my son died? Or hell, anytime in the last two years?" she growled, "How do I know that this is even real?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You think I knew you were going to tie me to a chair and threaten me? You think I had that in reserve just in case you lost your mind?"

Imogen frowned, "You know, I might not even be your sister," she said, hoping to get a reaction.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, "Of course you're my sister."

"How do you know that? My mom's word alone? You didn't even know I existed until you showed up that day."

"There are pictures of you and Dad when you were a tiny baby, Em," he sighed, "You know that, you've seen them."

Imogen shook her head, "That police officer I talked to said he used to go out with mom. Said they were pretty hot and heavy for a while. He thought he might be my father."

"Wait… You told him you were the missing girl?"

"No, idiot. Of course not. I went down to the station and talked to him."

"The police were just happy to give out information to a civilian? I know they didn't believe you were FBI."

"I didn't pretend to be FBI. I'm not stupid. I said I was a college girl writing a paper."

"And he just forked over all this information about his sex life and this case?"

"Not exactly," she said, starting to shrink back a bit.

"So what, did you pay him?"

Imogen felt her skin starting to crawl, and just remembering it got her pissed off, "I blew him Dean! There, I told you. Are you fucking happy?"

Dean just sat there for a few moments looking absolutely awe struck, "You gave a blow job to a guy who told you he might be your father?"

"No," she took a deep breath, "He didn't tell me that until after."

The two sat there in silence for an uncomfortable while.

"Don't look at me like that," she growled, "Don't pretend like you're somehow better than me. I did what I had to do. Ya'know, it was easier than fucking the truck driver who picked me up back in Denver," now her tone was cold, she wanted to hurt Dean, or at least make him sick.

"Jesus, Em… What the hell happened to you?" his voice was shaky.

"Life," she barked, "Happened while you were off doing whatever the hell you did for six months."

Dean took a deep breath, "Em, I can't tell you enough times how sorry I am for leaving-"

Imogen pointed the gun at his head, "I don't want to hear it!" she screamed, "I want to cause you as much pain as I feel!"

"Imogen," he took a deep breath, "It doesn't matter how badly you hurt me, it's not going to make you feel any better," he looked at her with a deep concern, "Believe it or not it's just going to make you feel shittier. But hey, you wanna shoot me go ahead. I deserve it."

Slowly Imogen shook her head, "No, I'm not going to shoot you," she told him.

"Then what are you going to do?" he asked, feeling quite uneasy.

Imogen's shaky hand slowly lifted the gun up and pressed it against her own temple, "Something that I should have done a long time ago."

"Hey," Dean barked, "No, Imogen. Killing yourself, that's not going to solve anything."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Sure it will. I was gonna do it the night I lost Ollie and blew Nick away. The only thing that stopped me was Sam and Bobby walked in and stopped me."

"Yeah! And that was a good thing too! Em, we need you here. Me and Bobby and Sammy. We need you."

"Oh fuck off, Dean," she barked, "I don't care what you need anymore."

Imogen lowered the gun so that she could cock it and then pressed it against her head once more, "Just know Dean, this is your fault," she rested her finger on the trigger.

Dean had slipped the ropes earlier when Imogen had gone out to the Impala, but he had been hopeful that she would come to her sense and untie him, now it wasn't quite looking that way. He would have to time this perfectly if he didn't want to lose his baby sister.

Dean waited until she had closed her eyes before he jumped out of the chair and grabbed her by the wrist of the gun that she was holding causing the weapon to fly out of her hand, painfully twisted it so that it was behind her back, and pushing her up against the wall, keeping his body pressed against hers so that she couldn't wiggle out.

"Get the fuck off of me!" she squirmed, "I want to fucking die!"

"I'm sure you do," Dean stated calmly, "Too bad," he reached into her pants pocket to grab his cell phone.

"Get your fucking hands off me you pervert!"

Dean didn't respond, just kept her pinned up against the wall while he called his brother.

"Hey! Sammy!" he barked when his brother answered, "I need you to get to this house like now. Seriously, emergency," he didn't wait for Sam to speak before he hung up and put his phone into his pocket.

"I fucking hate you, Dean!" she growled.

"Yeah, well I love you," he roughly turned her around, forcing her to look at him, "I love you and I'm going to help you whether you like it or not. Understand me?"

Imogen spit in his face and Dean just shook his head. He wasn't sure what to do with Imogen, especially since Sam wasn't around to help. He knew he couldn't take his eye off his sister or something permanent might happen.

Dean and Imogen both jumped out of fright when the front door was slammed open. It was much too soon for Sam to be here. Dean peered around the corner to see a large, middle aged man in a police uniform approaching.

"What are you doing here?" the man barked, making his way into the kitchen where Dean was with Imogen.

"Officer Jack?" Imogen asked, looking at him.

Jack paused, "Wait… You're that kid I talked to earlier today, aren't you? What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know this is trespassing?"

Dean's eyes widened, "Excuse me?" he barked, "You're the officer she talked to?" he turned to Imogen, "This is the guy that you talked to?"

Imogen slowly nodded. No matter how fucked up things were between her and Dean she knew the big brother in him would always come out. So that's why she wasn't surprised when Dean shoved the officer up against the wall, sticking an arm against his throat to cut off his air.

"You made my sister give you oral sex?" he growled.

The man gasped for breath, trying to form words but unable.

"She's a minor, you fucking pedophile," Dean dropped the man to the ground before kicking him in the stomach, "And that's for lying to her and telling her I fucked her mother!"

Imogen grabbed Dean by the arm and jerked him back, "What the hell are you doing?" she whispered, "He didn't know who I was! You wanna go to fucking prison?"

Jack laughed softly, slowly getting to his feet, "You think you're so damn clever, don't you Imogen?"

Imogen looked at the man, "What do you mean?"

Dean stepped in front of Imogen so that Jack couldn't get to her as easily.

"I knew who you were the second you got into two," he smirked, "I could smell you."

"Smell me?" she questioned, not putting the pieces together.

"He's a werewolf, Imogen," Dean barked, annoyed with the banter.

"That's right. Purebred, actually. I was the one who bit your mommy."

"Wait," Imogen swallowed hard, "You knew who I was… You knew I was your daughter and you had me-"

"No," the man barked, "You're not my daughter. I only said that to mess with you. Hell, most everything I said to you was to mess with you. To confuse you. To lure you here so I could get rid of you too. Little did I know you were gonna bring the actual real hunters with you."

"I am a real hunter," she spat vehemently.

"Oh sure," Jack chuckled, "Tell yourself that. If it makes you feel better. Dean however, I'm betting that he would have known from the jump that I wasn't human."

"Why the hell do you want to kill me?" Imogen asked, "What did I do to you?"

"Well, see here's the thing. It's not so much what you did to me as what your mother did to me. See, I loved her, but she was in love with that stupid Winchester-motherfucker. I didn't have a chance, not while she was human anyways. So I turned her, hoping that it would work out in my favor. I was going to teach her to control herself and her urges like I do. but she actually called Sam and Dean out here to exterminate her before I ever got the chance."

"So what were you going to do with me?" she demanded, "Kill me? What?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. Whatever she wanted. But she died, and I would have taken you under my wing but those pesky Winchesters got to you first."

Imogen pushed Dean out of the way so that she was standing toe-to-toe with the man, "So what? You're gonna kill me now? Why?"

"Well, see I've actually been trying to track you down for a couple of years now. You seem to have something of mine."

"What the fuck could I possibly have of yours?"

Jack reached his hand up to gently caress her cheek.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!" Dean yelled, stepped close.

"Oh calm down, Winchester. If I wanted to hurt her don't you think I've had plenty of chances?" but the man reachd for the necklace that was hanging around her neck and roughly ripped it off, "This is mine."

"No!" Imogen barked, "That's my mother's. It was the last fucking thing she ever gave me! Give it the fuck back."

He shook his head, "Not a chance. I gave this to your mother, she never gave it back. It's mine now," he snickered, "You know, I actually sent one of mysons, Trever, to retrieve it but he never came back."

Imogen felt absolutely sick to her stomach, "You're not telling me that…"

"Oh," he smiled dramatically, "That's exactly what I'm telling you. I told Trev to just go there and back but the poor boy is young and he gets hungry. So sorry if he snacked on someone you love."

The young girl felt her mouth go dry and her voice was barely audible, "You son-of-a-bitch," she breathed as she lunged for the man, who happily opened his mouth to show his sharp, pointed teeth.


	38. Chapter Thirty-Seven

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! Life happened!**

Sam had made it to the house just in time to be able to peek in and catch the bulk of what was going on. He knew that something was serious with how quickly he had gotten off the phone with Dean earlier, so he had raced to the house on foot, no time to steal a car. He creeped around to the entrance, thankfully he would be out of sight of the monster and his siblings. He had the element of surprise and he was going to use that to his advantage.

It didn't take Sam long to find a spot where he was both concealed and had a clear shot of Jack. He was just about to pull the trigger when Imogen lunged at the man.

"Dammit," he whispered to himself, knowing he couldn't fire now for fear of hitting his sister. So he jumped out of his cover and ran over to them, roughly tearing his sister off. There was no way in hell he was letting her get bit.

Dean, who had slipped his ropes helped Imogen to her feet, "Are you okay?" he asked, "Did he get you?"

Imogen shook her head, "I'm fine," she looked to Sam who had the gun pointed at the monster who was now cowering on the ground, "Don't shoot him, Sam!" she yelled.

"What the hell? Why not?"

Imogen pushed Sam out of the way and took his gun, "This is my kill," she said before unloading the clip in the monster, not even flinching.

Dean grabbed Imogen and flipped her around, taking the gun from her, "EM!" he yelled, pulling her back to reality, "That's enough!"

"It's not enough!" she screamed, "It won't ever be enough until he's dead, you're dead, Sam's dead, until we are all fucking dead it won't ever be enough. So give me a fucking bullet and it'll finally be enough!"

"No!" Dean barked, "It's not going to happen. Understand me? You're not taking the easy way out."

"Em," Sam slowly approached, his tone gentler than that of his brother's, "We are gonna get through this. All of us together. You just have to let us help you," he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "You know, there's been hundreds of times where I've just wanted to end it all. I thought it would make things easier for the whole world. But sis, we do a lot more good than we do bad. You've got to know that."

Imogen shook her head, "No, you do more good than bad. You and Dean and Bobby. I'm not a hunter, not really. A real hunter would have been able to tell that officer wasn't human."

"You were too close to the case," Dean interrupted, "Sammy and I have missed things hundreds of times because we were too in our own heads. It was an honest mistake. You had questions and hell, he had answers. Just maybe not the truthful ones."

"I can't," Imogen took another deep breath, "I can't be here anymore. I can't be alive with my baby gone."

"Yes you can," Dean affirmed, "You can do anything."

"Yeah," she growled, "Well maybe I don't want to. You couldn't live without Sam. You sold your damn soul for him."

"Oh not this crap again," Dean groaned, "You tried to sell your soul, Em. The demon wouldn't deal. Hell, I even tried to talk to Cas, we tried everything we could."

"Hey," Sam turned his sister so she was looking at him, "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes," she said softly, looking at her feet.

Sam pulled her head up so that she would meet his eyes, "You know I loved Oliver too. You know that I would have done absolutely anything to keep him safe. You know that if there was a way to get him back that I would sell my own damn soul to do it. You know all of that right?"

"I guess."

"No, you don't guess. You know that- yes or no?"

"Yes, Sam. Yes I know you would," she finally admitted.

"Losing him messed me up, Em. It messed me up bad. I know you have it a thousand times worse. I don't know what it's like to lose a child. But I do know that I can't deal with losing my nephew, who I loved so much, and my baby sister who I love more than anything in the world, in one fatal swoop… Imogen, you have to promise me that I won't lose you too," he cleared his throat as a tear dripped down his face, "I can't lose you too. Don't make me lose you too."

Imogen couldn't help herself. The tears started flowing and sobs wracked her body, but Sam just pulled her to his chest and he held her for what felt like hours while Dean stood idly by and watched, trying hard to hold back his own tears. Out of nowhere Imogen grabbed him and the three held onto each other. Sam and Dean pretended not to cry, they pretended to be strong while Imogen broke down. But the truth was they were both crying and both avoiding looking at each other.

At some point the sibling trio sat down. Imogen had her head in Dean's lap and he stroked her hair while she didn't let go of Sam's hand. She needed them there, just in physical proximity. They were all she had. She'd gone looking for answers and now she hated herself for it. She wished that she could rewind time and pretend like none of this had ever happened. She wished she could forget what she had learned, forget Nick, and forget everything. Just do the family business, her and Sam and Dean. The way that it was meant to be. The way that it should have been, but she ruined it. She ruined everything.

The sun was high in the sky when Sam turned to Dean, "We should go," he whispered to his brother, hopeful that Imogen had fallen asleep and that he wouldn't wake her.

"Go where?" Dean asked.

"Bobby's? I dunno. But we can't stay here. Someone might recognize us."

"I don't think she wants to be at Bobby's," Dean whispered, "I think there's too many memories."

"Bobby's is fine," Imogen stated, slowly sitting up and pushing her dirty hair from her face, "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Dean asked, "Because we can kick it around the states for a while," he shrugged, "We can hunt, not hunt, whatever."

Imogen shook her head, "No, let's go back to Bobby's."

So the siblings went. The first few hours of the trip back to Bobby's was long and depressing. No one had much to say, which made it seem like getting there was taking an eternity. They had to split the trip into two days since no one had gotten much sleep the night before, so Dean drove for as long as he could before they stopped at a motel. They got one room and Dean was the first to fall asleep.

Sam and Imogen on the other hand were restless.

"Hey, Sam, I'm gonna go out for a little bit," she told him, slipping on her shoes.

"Where are you going?" he asked gently, looking up from what he was doing on the computer.

"Honestly? Going to the bar."

"You're not twenty-one. You can't get in."

"Fake ID," she told him.

"No, Em… Please don't. I don't want to be worried about you."

"I need a drink," she told him, "I'm not gonna take off."

"No, I know you won't… Just, hey.. There's a bottle of whiskey in Dean's bag. Can you just drink that?"

Slowly Imogen walked over and pulled the half-empty bottle from Dean's bag, "He'll be mad."

"Not as mad as if he found out you were bar hopping. Besides, I'll buy him another bottle."

"You sure?" Imogen asked, "You've never offered me whiskey before."

Slowly Sam stood up and walked over to take the bottle from her, pouring them both a small cup full, "You were never an adult before," he said, putting the bottle back down and handing her the drink, "Bottoms up," he said, drinking down all of his whiskey at once, "Just please, don't leave tonight."

Imogen wrapped her arms around her brother and the two stood like that for a few minutes, just holding each other, "You got it," she whispered, laying down on the rollaway bed and facing the wall. She pretended to be asleep, even tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't sleep. So she just lay there and listened to Sam on the computer. He played around on it for a while before he shut off the lights and went to bed.

Then Imogen lay on her small, uncomfortable rollaway bed and listened to the sounds of her brothers snoring. They were loud, but it was comforting. It was the one thing that really was comforting. Many nights she had fallen asleep to their snores. It was her lullaby, and finally sleep came.

Morning rolled around and Dean was the first one awake. He showered and left the motel to go pick up breakfast. He wanted today to start out on a less depressing note than the one before. He brought a box of fresh donuts back to the motel and decided it was time for everyone else to be awake.

"Up and at'em Winchesters!" he said with a loud clap of his hands, almost feeling guilty when his sister sat up so fast she almost fell off of her bed.

"Jesus Dean," Imogen groaned, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and standing up, "You're lucky I don't have a gun on me."

Dean smirked a little, "Sorry, kiddo," he opened up the box of donuts and took out a chocolate one and took a bite, "Fuel up, we have a long day ahead of us."

"I'm not hungry," she told him, grabbing her bag off the floor and digging around in it, "I think I'm just gonna take a shower."

"Come on, Em," Sam yawned, slowly getting up, "Eat something."

Imogen rolled her eyes and took one of the donuts and took a bite, "Happy?" she asked with her mouth full.

Dean nodded, "Now go forth and shower, because we need to hit the road."

Imogen finished the rest of her donut before heading into the bathroom.

Sam waited until he heard the shower running before speaking, "We broke into your whiskey last night," he told his brother.

"You what?" Dean looked almost angry.

"Chill, she was having a hard night. She wanted to go to the bar. I'll buy you another bottle, just don't yell at her, okay? We just got her back. I don't want to lose her again."

A long and low sigh escaped Dean, "You let her drink?" he questioned.

"I let her have a drink, yeah," Sam told his brother, "What's the big deal? You got her drunk when she got her first period."

Dean shrugged, "Touché, brother."

"So you won't say anything to her?"

Dean shook his head, "Nah, I would have done the same thing. Besides, can you imagine the trouble she could have gotten into at a bar? We need to keep an eye on her. Not let her out of our sight."

"That's really not what we need to do," Sam disagreed, "You think she wants us up her ass? Because I think that's gonna have the opposite effect of what she wants."

Dean hesitated a few minutes before he spoke again, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Sooo, what happened last night? I mean before I got there."

Dean sighed softly, "She was hurt and angry and confused… Sammy, she was going to kill herself. She blamed me for everything. Sure, she had some misinformation but she knew the jist of it. She knew that I killed her mom. She knocked me out and tied me up and had the gun pointed to her own head."

"How did you stop her?" Sam asked, "Or did that werewolf son-of-a-bitch show up at just the right time?"

Dean shook his head, "No, I got her to go outside and get that letter from the car. You know, the one I've been saving for her."

Sam nodded, "So she read that and it was all good?"

"No, she didn't turn the gun on herself until after she read that. But while she was in the car I got out of the ropes. She didn't know that, but when she put the gun to her head I was able to grab her and disarm her."

"So when the hell did the werewolf show up?" Sam asked.

"Like right after that, I guess. It was kind of weird timing… but Sammy, if I hadn't been able to slip those ropes…"

Both Sam and Dean had been too caught up in their own conversation to hear the water in the bathroom shut off or Imogen opening the door and walking out. They also hadn't realized that they had been talking loud enough that Imogen could hear them.

"I would be dead," she said, finishing Dean's sentence, "You can say it… It's kinda funny, I knocked you out and beat the hell out of you and all you did was try to help me."

"It's really not funny," Dean replied, standing up and taking a step towards his sister, "I love you. Sam loves you. Bobby loves you. Em, you could literally castrate me and I would still go to the ends of the Earth to keep you safe. You have to know that."

Imogen hesitated for a few moments before nodding in agreement, "No, I know. I know that you would Dean."

Dean breathed a sigh of relief, "It's scary Em. It's scary when you see someone you love pressing a gun up against her own head. When someone you love is in so much pain that they don't want to be alive anymore."

"I'm sorry," Imogen breathed, looking down at her feet, "I'm so sorry, Dean."

"Hey," Dean took a step to her and gently lifted up her chin so that she would meet his eyes, "Don't be sorry, just let me help you. Talk to us. Sis, that's what we are here for. I know I'm not the poster child for talking about feelings, but if you ever feel like ending it all then know that you can always come to me."

Slowly Imogen nodded and wrapped her arms around her oldest brother, burying her face in his chest.

"Same goes for me, Em," Sam announced, "You need someone don't ever hesitate. Ever."

A few minutes passed before Imogen pulled away from Dean, "Come on, we better hit the road before it gets too late. I wanna get back to Bobby's. Does he know we are coming? Does he hate me?"

Sam chuckled a little, "Yeah, I called him. And no, he doesn't hate you. Don't be ridiculous."

Imogen nodded and ran a hand through her hair, "All right. Let's go then," she picked up her bag and headed out of the room.

Sam and Dean exchanged glances before following after her.

 **A/N: I want to thank you all so much for your sweet comments. I read them all and they all inspire me to write more! Thank you so much!**


	39. Chapter Thirty-Eight

So they made it back to Bobby's. The ride there wasn't a big deal. They talked a little, joked a little, but all in all they just kind of drove and enjoyed being together for the first time in a very long time. After a long day of driving they finally pulled into Bobby's.

It was different… Or maybe Imogen was different. But it felt almost like she hadn't been here before. Maybe because the last time she really saw this place was the day after her son died. That was the last time she paid attention to anything. But that was months ago. Summer was gone and it was winter.

When Dean parked the car Imogen slowly got out without a word and walked around, examining the property. The trees were barren. The lush, green grass she had taken Oliver out to crawl around on was brown and dying, covered with the soggy leaves that had fallen off the trees. She swallowed hard and sucked in a breath, wrapped her coat tightly around herself, and turned back around to see her brothers still standing at the Impala and staring back at her.

"I can't," she said, sniffing because of the cold.

Both the boys slowly walked over to her.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" Dean asked, "Anywhere else?"

"No," she took a deep breath, "I don't want to go anywhere."

Sam gently rubbed her back, "So what then?" he asked softly.

"You guys said if I ever needed help to ask, right?" she looked at the two of them who nodded, "I need help."

"How can we help?" Dean asked.

Imogen grabbed one hand from each brother and took a deep breath, "I can't do this by myself."

Dean gripped his sister's hand tightly, "You don't have to."

The three strolled up the porch together and stood in front of the front door for several minutes.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked.

"As I'll ever be," she choked out.

Sam slowly reached for the door, giving her plenty of time to change her mind before opening it up and leading the way.

Once inside Imogen let go of both her brothers and took a few steps away, looking around the living room. It was the same as it had been her whole life. Dirty, dusty, and cluttered. It was almost comforting in a way, that this was the one constant.

"Bobby!" she called loudly, suddenly needing to see him.

Almost instantly they heard the clumping of the man's boots upstairs hurrying down and spying them, "You're back!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to her and pulling her into a hug.

Imogen almost smiled at his excitement- almost. But she couldn't.

"Hey Bobby," she waited a second before gently pulling away, "How are you?"

"Glad as hell that you're all right," he explained, his hands still resting on her as if she might disappear when he let go, "I'm so glad to see you, kid."

She half grinned, just to put him at ease, "It's good to see you too. I'm sorry if I scared you," she turned to look at her brothers, "If I scared any of you, please know how sorry I am."

"Nonsense," Bobby stated loudly, "You're back now. That's all that matters."

Imogen looked at Bobby a little confused, "If Sam or Dean had just taken off for no reason you would have smacked them silly."

Bobby scratched his beard, "Didn't you have a reason?"

"Well yeah," she stated.

"Then that's what matters. You take care of you, Em. You don't gotta take care of us."

"Thank you, Bobby," she breathed softly, "Hey uh," she cleared her throat, "Did you… uh… Do you still have my… Ollie's stuff."

Bobby narrowed his eyes at her, "You think I would have gotten rid of it?"

She shrugged, "After the way I was… Yeah. You did that with my mom's stuff... Took it away when I got too obsessed."

Bobby patted her shoulder, "It's up in your room. I haven't really gone in there since you guys left."

"Can I go up there?" she asked.

Bobby sighed softly, "Em, I don't want you to."

Her heart skipped a beat, "Wh-why not?" she stuttered out.

"Because, this is the most you've talked to me since it happened. I don't want you locking yourself away from the world again."

"I won't," she told him, "I promise I won't… I just need to see him," her voice cracked and it took everything in her not to burst into tears, "I just need to see him. Bobby, I left here without any pictures of him. Nothing. I… I just need to see him."

"Okay," Bobby nodded, "Go ahead. Just don't stay up there too long. Understand?"

Imogen nodded and quickly made her way to the stairs and up them. She was glad to be out of sight of Bobby and her brothers. She was glad to finally be alone. Slowly she walked down the hall and to her old room. The doorknob was still broken so she just gently pushed and it opened. She shut it behind her and walked over to the small, twin sized bed and sat down.

So many nights she had spent cramped and crowded on this bed with Nick and occasionally Oliver made it onto the bed with them. Imogen and Nick had talked extensively about getting a bigger bed, because while Imogen was a small girl Nick was not a small man and he took up most of the room, leading to bad sleep for the both of them.

There was one night in particular that Imogen and Nick had gotten into a really nasty argument. Oliver had woken up screaming and Imogen had to calm him down. Nick had been sick and hadn't been sleeping very well and had to work the next day. He was cranky and once Imogen had gotten Oliver back to sleep he had made a comment about her being a lousy parent. It erupted into a full on screaming match between the two, waking the baby and making him scream. After about five minutes Sam and Bobby were intervening. They split the couple up for the night and when Imogen and Oliver woke the next morning he was already gone for work. She really thought he was gone for good. Bobby and Sam didn't tell her this, but they thought the same thing. They were all surprised when he came back from work that evening with an apology for being a dick. Imogen apologized too and that was the one big fight they ever had as parents. Sure, they had plenty of disagreements, but nothing as awful as that again.

Most of the time they spent on that bed together was in love. Some nights they would talk, joke around, and tease each other. Imogen loved having him there next to her, his strong arms wrapped around her. She felt safe with him. Even though he didn't know about monsters she felt like he could protect her. Sometimes late at night when they were sure that Bobby and Oliver were asleep and that Sam couldn't hear them they would make love. They always tried to be as quiet as possible, but that was hard sometimes. Sometimes it was clumsy and awkward and it made them laugh, other times it was the sweet release that they needed to get through another day. Both Imogen and Nick thought they did a good job of keeping it down, so they didn't know that about half the time Bobby could hear them having sex. Bobby was too mortified to say anything about it. There was one time Bobby had walked down the hall in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. He had a rule, no shutting the door to the bedroom. He walked right by them as they were going at it. Horrified Nick rolled off of her and onto the floor. Bobby had no idea what was happening, just heard Nick's body hit the floor. So he poked his head inside and flipped on the light.

"Everything okay?" Bobby had asked.

Nick was overly relieved that his naked body was hidden behind the bed, if it hadn't been Bobby would not have been happy, "Yeah," Nick groaned, "Just rolled off. Tiny bed. We need a bigger on."

"Not a chance in hell, ya' idjit," he flipped off the light and went about his own business.

As soon as Bobby was out of sight Imogen, who had pretended to be asleep, pulled Nick back up onto the bed and the two lay there in silence for a long while before either had the courage to speak.

"That was close," Imogen finally whispered.

"Yeah," he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head, "Glad he didn't have his shot gun."

After that they were more careful about making sure Bobby was asleep before doing anything they weren't supposed to be doing. But hey, they were a couple, they had a baby together, and the birth control aspect was taken care of. They were owed a little fun, at least they thought so.

Imogen turned onto her side to see Oliver's bassinet. He had outgrown it and they were going to be getting him a crib since he was sitting up on his own and they were worried he was going to fall out of it. Imogen knew what crib she wanted, she had it picked out and everything. They were just waiting to buy it when Nick got his next paycheck. What Imogen didn't know was Nick was hiding something from her. He and Bobby were building the crib, practically identical to the one she wanted. It still lay unfinished in Bobby's garage. Before he died they had almost finished it, they just had to glue a few more things into place and paint it.

Imogen sat up on the bed and peered inside of the bassinet. She knew her baby wasn't in there, but she could still see him. So tiny and pink. He was so perfect. A tear dripped down her cheek and onto the padded bed. Maybe it was her eyes playing tricks on her because Bobby had washed the sheet a dozen times, but there was still the faintest bloodstain that wouldn't come out. Imogen insisted on keeping it though. Despite how painful it was to look at, she couldn't not look at it. Some days she would just sit and stare for hours.

Slowly Imogen stood up and walked over to the dresser Bobby had made her after she had broken her leg and moved in with him. Sitting on it next to a picture of Nick and Oliver was a small wooden box. Inside of that box was a handful of ashes that she had scooped up after the funeral. She gently ran her fingers over the box. This was all that was left of her son and Nick. Just a handful of ashes in a box.

Silently she wondered to herself if Nick's father knew, or would even care, that Nick was dead. Maybe someone at his job had filed a missing person's report when he had stopped showing up for work. Imogen doubted it though, if that had happened the police would have questioned them. His coworkers knew her and knew where she lived. Sam or Bobby must have taken care of it.

Nick's father knew nothing about her or Oliver. Nick hadn't spoken to his father since he had left home. He didn't want to give his dad a reason to come back into his life and stir up trouble. Imogen respected that, besides she didn't trust many people and she was very protective of her son. She didn't really want anyone around him besides the men that she lived with. She was okay with not inviting a drug addict into the mix.

She picked up the picture of Nick and Oliver and stared at it. It was the one print picture that she had. Everything else was on her old cell phone. This picture was her favorite. Oliver was still a tiny thing, sleeping soundly on his sleeping father's chest. Nick didn't know she had taken it until she had it printed, framed, and given it to him for father's day. He cried.

Nick wanted to get married. He told her that almost every day. Part of Imogen wanted to get married too, but she knew she couldn't. At the time, in her mind, she didn't legally exist. She was still a minor so she would have to get a guardian to sign for her to get married, and while Sam and Dean were the ones who had been taking care of her since she was very young they didn't have any form of legal custody of her. There would be no way for her to marry Nick legally. She could always use a fake ID, but she hated the idea of it not really being her marrying him.

At the time Nick still had no idea about the supernatural. He didn't know that Imogen wasn't legally guarded by her brothers, and Imogen didn't want him to know. She wanted him to think she was normal, or at least something resembling it. So she told him when she was eighteen they would get married. She told him that she would never be able to get Sam to sign for it, so they would have to wait. He didn't want to wait, but he believed what she said about Sam, so the two were kind of unofficially engaged. No engagement ring or anything, just the promise that when she was older they would be wed. What Imogen didn't know was Nick had asked not only Sam's, but Bobby's permission to marry her. All he was waiting for was Dean to show back up so he could ask him too. Once he got the oldest brother's permission he was going to present her with a ring. He already had it. It had been his mother's. The only thing he had of his mother's was that ring. Imogen also didn't know that ring was tucked into the pocket of one of his coats hanging in the closet.

They talked about having more kids one day when Oliver was older. Nick wanted three or four more, while Imogen was content and overwhelmed with just the one. So they settled on two, maybe three if they ended up with another boy. They didn't tell anyone of their plans. At just the mere thought Sam would have flipped, he was the one who had taken her to get birth control after all. Imogen knew right then wasn't a good time to have another baby, she wasn't stupid.

They talked about how they wanted to raise Oliver. About what kind of a person he would be when he grew up. Nick wanted him to go to an Ivy League school and become a doctor. Imogen would laugh and turn to look to Sam who would agree about the importance of education. Nick would ask her what she wanted and she would just shrug and say that she just wanted him to be nothing like her. Nick would question why, but she was always vague with her answers.

Now none of that was going to happen. Oliver wasn't going to grow up, she wasn't going to marry Nick, and there would be no more kids. She couldn't keep the one baby alive, there was no way in hell she would trust herself with another. Besides, Nick was gone. The love of her life was nothing but ash now. She vowed to herself that she would never love again, she would never make love again. Sure, she could have sex when it directly benefitted her, but there would be no love involved. She would never let herself hurt like this ever again.

Looking around this room she felt sad and empty. Imogen didn't want to feel sad, but she could deal with the empty. She couldn't stay here, at Bobby's. So she made a plan.


	40. Chapter Thirty-Nine

Imogen stuck by her promise to Bobby. She didn't keep herself locked up in that bedroom. Instead she came out, cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and anything else around the house that needed doing she took it upon herself to get it done. Occasionally over the next few weeks she would even venture out into the yard and cut the grass or pick up empty beer cans. Anything she could do to keep herself busy she would do. She was leaving. Neither Bobby, Dean, nor Sam knew that, but she did and she wanted to leave on a good note.

She wasn't leaving too soon though. She had some things she needed to do first. She had to get some kind of transportation. She thought long and hard about this because she really had no idea. Imogen didn't want to be on the road, stealing cars, and constantly worrying about getting arrested, so she needed wheels of her own. It took her about a week before she figured out what she was going to do.

"Hey Bobby," she smiled at him one afternoon, "Hey, can I ask you something."

He had just walked in from helping Dean with maintenance on the Impala and was washing his hands, "Sure, kid," he wiped his wet hands on his pants and turned to face her, "What's up?"

"Do you still have my moped?" she asked, "You know, the one you got me for my birthday."

He hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, it's around here somewhere. Why?"

She shrugged, "I was just thinking it might be nice to have my own wheels."

"You need to go somewhere?" he asked almost suspiciously, "I'll take ya'."

"I know you would, Bobby. But I was thinking about getting a job or something. Get out of the house a bit. Could be good for me, learning how to be an adult."

Bobby sighed softly but nodded understandingly, "Yeah, well it probably needs some repairs. It's been sitting for a long ass time."

She nodded happily, "Yeah, I figured. Think Dean would help me?"

A scoff escaped Bobby, "Please. You think Dean knows anything about mopeds?"

Imogen shrugged her shoulders, "No idea. Maybe I can find some info online."

The old man rolled his eyes, "Come on ya' idjit," he gently pushed her to the back door and the two walked out together and over to one of the sheds. Bobby pushed open the door and flipped on the light. He knew that the moped was in here but he had completely forgotten about the unfished crib. He wanted to push Imogen out and keep her from seeing it, but by the time he realized it was too late.

She was frozen in the doorway just staring at the dusty crib. She swallowed hard, trying to breathe, trying to stay standing, trying to speak.

"Em," he put a hand on her shoulder and tried to urge her out of the shed, "I'm sorry. I forgot this was in here."

"You did this?" her voice cracked, but quickly she collected herself.

Bobby nodded, "Yeah. Me and Nick. We were almost done."

Imogen nodded, "Thank you," she whispered to him, "I just… I can't. Can you get my moped? Can we work on it somewhere else?"

"Absolutely," Bobby walked in, grabbed the bike and wheeled it out, turning off the light and shutting the door behind him, "We'll take it up to the house. Shouldn't rain anytime soon."

Imogen nodded and followed Bobby back to the house and stood idly by, looking over the bike as he went to get his tools.

"Okay," he smiled when he got back, "First thing's first, we need to drain the old gas out of there and refill it and see if we can get it to start."

Imogen nodded, "Should be easy. Last time I drove it, I drove it out of gas," she smirked, bending down and unscrewing the gas tank and peering inside, "Yeah, it's empty."

"Okay good," Bobby had a gas can with him and poured the contents into the bike, "Do you have the key?" he asked.

Imogen nodded and pulled it out of her pocket, she had found it the night before and was ready with it. She stuck it into the ignition and turned it, nothing happened.

"I'd be willing to bet the battery is dead," he said, bending down and opening up the compartment, unhooking the battery and examining it before tucking it under his arm, "Doesn't look too bad," he told her, "Come on, I have a battery charger out front. I'll bet all it needs is a charge."

She followed Bobby around to the front of the house where he hooked up the battery to the charger, "That'll probably take a couple hours," he told her, "Until then do you wanna go on a beer run with me?"

Imogen nodded, "Sure, Bobby," she followed him to his truck and climbed up into the passenger's side.

"So," he said as he put the car in gear and pulled out onto the road, "I'm sorry if I upset you or made you mad… I really did forget the crib was in there."

She reached over and gently patted his knee, "It's okay," she whispered, "I was just surprised is all."

"I know," he nodded, not looking away from the road, "I am sorry."

"Please stop apologizing," she said, "You didn't do it to hurt me. Really, I understand."

"Okay," Bobby laughed nervously, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she stated, "I could really go for a hot fudge sundae."

Bobby smirked a little, "You'll spoil your dinner."

With a roll of her eyes Imogen laughed, "Yeah, that's what you're worried about."

A few minutes passed before Bobby pulled into an ice cream shop, "You win," he grumbled teasingly, "Whatever you want, on me."

"Good," Imogen smirked, sliding out of the truck and following him inside, "Because I don't have any money."

They both ordered, Bobby paid, they got their food, and then went to sit at a table near the window. Imogen got chocolate ice cream with hot fudge and caramel topping and Bobby got a strawberry ice cream cone.

"You're so lame," Imogen smirked, spooning her treat into her mouth and practically moaning with pleasure.

Bobby eyeballed her as he licked his ice cream, "You make that look really gross, kid."

Imogen laughed loudly, "Oh and you over there all sexy with pink ice cream in your beard."

"Thank you for noticing," he grinned as he took a bite and made a face when the cold froze his mouth, "Balls!" he groaned painfully.

"Brain freeze?" she smirked, "Good."

"Ah, hush up and eat your damn ice cream," he took another bite and pretended like it didn't hurt just as much as the first.

Imogen and Bobby arrived back home just over two hours later. They had hit up the grocery store and decided tonight was a night for a bonfire. It was cold so the fire would warm them up. They got hot dogs to roast and a couple cases of beer. If the boys didn't want to join for the fire and food they both knew that the beer would entice them.

"Family bonding," Imogen announced when she was questioned by Sam upon brining in large quantities of groceries into the house.

"Family bonding?" the larger Winchester repeated.

"Is there an echo in here?" Bobby asked sarcastically, loading the beer into the refrigerator.

"Bon fire, hotdogs, beer. It'll be great," she smiled at her brother, "As soon as the sun goes down. Go tell Dean."

Sam looked a little confused but relented and went to find his brother.

"Geeze, he acts like spending time with me is gonna kill him."

Bobby chuckled, "I think he was just surprised," he said, standing back up and straightening out, "Come on, let's go check on that battery and see if we can get you mobile."

So the two walked back onto the porch where Bobby took the battery off the charger and they headed around the back of the house. Bobby plugged the battery into the moped and turned the key that had been left in the ignition and it immediately started up.

"Viola," he smirked, obviously proud of himself.

Imogen squealed with excitement and threw her arms around the man, "Thank you!"

Bobby couldn't help the smile that came over his face and he wrapped his arms around her, unintentionally lifting her off of her feet, "You're welcome, kiddo," he set her back down and the hug broke.

"You know," Imogen locked eyes with the old man, "Sam and Dean would probably slap me silly if they heard this, but Bobby… I kind of view you like a dad. I mean, you've spent more time taking care of me than John ever did. And I know that's not really his fault, I mean he died. But you're the most fatherly father figure I've ever had."

Bobby stood there still and quiet for a few moments, processing what she said, before he spoke, "Th-thanks Em."

"I know this family isn't big on stating the obvious… but I love you. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable but I do."

"Nah," Bobby shook his head, "It doesn't make me uncomfortable. I uh.. I love you too."

"I know," she nodded, "If you didn't you wouldn't have put up with my bullshit as long as you had. You wouldn't have helped me fix this moped. You wouldn't have built my baby a crib. Hell, if you didn't love me you wouldn't have let my stupid, sixteen-year-old ass come and live with you with a little baby in tow and you damn sure wouldn't have let my boyfriend move in too."

A small chuckled escaped Bobby, "Well, I'm glad you know," he pulled her in for another hug and kissed the top of her head, "You and those boys, you're my kids whether you like it or not."

"I like it," she said softly, leaning into his chest and breathing him in. He smelled like Old Spice and whiskey. Probably not the most pleasant aromas, but Imogen needed to remember it.

"All right, kid," he gently pulled away from her, "I'm gonna get this fire started. You rally your brothers and the food. The sun is setting quickly and I'm hungry."

"So I see the ice cream didn't spoil your dinner."

Bobby chuckled and patter her back as he turned and headed down to the area where they would be doing the burning. Imogen made her way inside and grabbed herself a beer. She popped the top and took a long drink from the bottle.

"Sam!" she called through the house, "Dean!"

She walked through the kitchen, opening the door and finding it a little weird that it had been shut in the first place. Sam and Dean were both in the living room, the older one scuttling to obviously hide something behind his back.

"What the hell are you two doing?" she asked, staring suspiciously, and took another drink of her beer.

"Nothing!" Sam stated, "We aren't uh- doing anything. Are you drinking beer?" he added, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Mhm," she nodded, setting her beer down on the table and slowly walking over to her brothers, "What you got there, Dean?"

Dean narrowed his eyes almost threateningly, "None of your business."

"Oh yeah?" she quickly reached behind him to grab for what he was hiding but he had flipped around so he was facing away from her with the secret now pressed to his chest, "Give it to me!" Imogen screeched as she jumped onto Dean's back, one arm locked around his throat and the other grasping for whatever he had been holding.

"You're chocking me!" the oldest Winchester said between coughs.

"Good!" she yelled, now seeing he was holding a manila colored folder just out of reach.

"Get off!" he choked out, "Sammy…. Help!"

Sam was too busy bursting with laughter to help either of them. Much to Imogen's satisfaction she was able to grab the folder from him and jump down.

"Give it back!" Dean whined, reaching desperately for it, "Come on, Em."

She held tightly to it, "What is it?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before she opened it up and looked inside. The first paper on top was a news article, she read the headline out loud, "Six people go missing from a camp ground," she turned the article over and read three that had similar titles all dating back a couple years. Slowly she looked back up at Dean, "Is this a case?" she asked, "Why were you hiding this?"

Dean looked defeated and he let out a breath he hadn't realized that he was holding, "Em… it's not what it looks like."

Imogen almost cried. Dean had convinced her that he was there for the long haul. That he wasn't going to skip town and bail on her again. And now she finds him hiding a case. She threw the file back at him, "Have fun," she muttered, stomping towards the stairs.

She would have stomped all the way up the stairs and into her room, slamming her broken door behind her, but Sam grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her before she even made it to the stairs.

"Hey, Em. Seriously, it's not what you think. Hear Dean out."

Slowly Imogen turned back to her brother, "Okay," she stated, "What's your excuse this time?"

Dean sighed and shook his head, "I don't have an excuse Em. This isn't my hunt-"

She cut him off, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Let me finish. I mean, it is my hunt. But it's your hunt too. Me and you. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas?" she repeated, "We don't do Christmas."

"Yeah, well. I thought you and I could use some good ole' fashion sibling bonding time. Ya' know, now that you don't hate me as much."

Slowly Imogen nodded, feeling a little stupid for jumping straight to conclusions a few minutes earlier, "What about Sam?"

"Aren't you two bonded enough?" he teased, "Come on Em. I miss you. I wanna spend some time with you."

Imogen turned to Sam, "Who's idea was this?" she questioned.

"Dean's," Sam told her truthfully, "And I think it's a good one," he gently patted her back, "Go, hunt. You'll love it."

"Fine," Imogen nodded, a lot calmer now, "I'll go. But not tonight. We have this bonfire tonight and you two are going to enjoy it," she eyed the two of them, "Understand me?"

"Yes ma'am!" the Winchester brothers replied in unison.

The four spent the next couple of hours sitting around the fire, drinking beer, and teasing one another. Bobby was the first person to turn in, followed closely by a tipsy Dean. So it was just Sam and Imogen sitting out by the fire. She had knocked back a beer or two and had a nice buzz going, but Sam on the other hand was drunker than she had ever seen him in her entire life.

"Hey'a Sammy," she was sitting next to him as he stood up, "Maybe you should go inside and lay down. I don't want you to fall into the fire."

"No, I'm fine," he slurred, stumbling as he walked to get another beer.

Quickly Imogen got to her feet and gently grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the fire so he wouldn't fall in like she feared, "I think you've had enough to drink. Seriously, Sam. What's going on with you?"

The large man shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. His face was flushed from the alcohol, "Nothing, it's nothing."

Imogen frowned, "Sammy," she gently squeezed his arm, "Talk to me. What's on your mind?"

He started to deny it once again but he needed to talk, "It's my fault," he said, turning to stare at the still burning fire.

Even though Imogen knew what he meant she still felt the need to question his statement, "What is?"

"Ollie," he swallowed hard, still refusing to look at her, "It's my fault he's gone. Nick too."

"Hey," she reached her hand up to turn his face so he was looking at her, "Sam, it's not your fault. Why would you even say something like that?"

"Because," he choked out, "Because I should have heard the werewolf come in. I shouldn't have slept through it. I shouldn't have drank so much the night before."

"You were drunk?" she asked softly, "Why are you just now telling me this?"

Sam took a deep breath, "Because I didn't want you to hate me. I already felt like shit, I blamed myself… I still do. And Em, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I had just-"

Imogen cut him off, "Hey, Sam, stop. Okay? I don't blame you. Ollie's death, it's not on you."

Almost as if his drunk brain hadn't heard anything she had just said he kept on, "If I hadn't drank so much."

"Sam!" she barked, "You're an adult and you're allowed to drink. Oliver wasn't your responsibility. He was mine. And Nick's death, that's not on you either. That one is on me," then she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, "Thank you," she told him, "For everything."

Sam buried his face in her hair, "I'm so sorry, Imogen," he squeezed her tightly, trying not to sob, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Gently the small girl pulled away, "Come on," she croaked out, "I don't wanna get emotional. Go inside and get some sleep. I'll put the fire out."

"Okay," he cleared his throat and stumbled back inside of Bobby's house.

Imogen was shaking so badly that she had to sit back down in the chair by the fire. It was a hard thing to hear. What if Sam hadn't been dunk that night… What if he could have saved Oliver? She put her head in her hands. She wanted to scream, wanted to break something. But someone might hear her and get worried so she didn't. Instead she put out the fire and slowly crept back inside. Dean was snoring loudly on the couch and Sam was already passed out on the floor. She stepped over his large body and headed up the stairs.

Dean and Imogen were leaving first thing in the morning for their hunt. She already had her bag packed and she was ready to go. However, no one except her knew that as soon as she and Dean got back from the hunt that she was going to be leaving to go out on her own. She still had the cash she had stolen from Dean when she took off in Denver and she had a couple of stolen credit cards too, so she would be good for a while.

She only had one decision left to make: Was she going to say goodbye or was she to leave without a word?


	41. Chapter Forty

Dean gently nudged Imogen's arm, pulling her out of her haze of sleep.

"Wake up," he stated, "We're here."

It had been an extremely long drive, it took them four days just to get there.

"I hate you," she muttered, stretching and rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Say that all you want, you and I both know that ain't true," he got out of the car and stretched himself, "You know," he began when Imogen got out of the car, "You snore."

Slowly the girl walked over to him, "I do not," she defended herself, "Come on, I need a damn shower."

"Yeah you do," Dean agreed, heading inside the lobby of the motel to get them a room. They had driven straight through, stopping only to use the bathroom or grab something to eat. When one of them got tired they would switch, but the drive would have taken twice as long had they stopped to sleep.

"Shut up," Imogen rolled her eyes, following him.

Dean got them a room and grabbed their bags from the car before they went to find the room together. He unlocked the room and pushed inside, "So, shower and go check out the camp site or do you need a nap first?"

"I wanna get on this," she told him, taking her bag from him and walking towards the bathroom, "Get me some coffee, okay?"

"You got it!" he smiled, waiting for her to shut the bathroom door before heading out of the room to find her some coffee. He didn't get far before a trench coated angel appeared directly in front of him, "Jesus, Cas," he had his hand pressed to his chest, frightened, "What's the big idea?"

Castiel narrowed his eyes at the Winchester before clearing his throat to speak, "What are you doing here?"

"Working a case," Dean said suspiciously, "Why are you here?"

"Who's with you?" the angel asked, ignoring Dean's questioned.

"Just me and Imogen," he informed the man, "What's going on?"

"You found her? I thought she was missing."

"Yeah, she turned up. We're on a little bonding trip I guess."

Castiel closed his eyes and made a very strained face.

"Are you pooping?" Dean asked, "What the hell is going on?"

"Scanning police radio," Castiel replied, not opening his eyes for a few moments, "It's a wendigo. Its den is two miles into the forest at the edge of town."

Dean looked at Castiel a little confused, "Thanks Cas… What's with the help?"

"Isn't that what friends do?"

"Well yeah, but-" before Dean could finish what he was going to say Castiel had disappeared, "Son-of-a-bitch," he muttered feeling uneasy as he got into the Impala and drove to the nearest donut shop where he got them both coffee and a box of donuts. When he got back she was already out of the shower and dressed. He handed her the coffee, "So good news."

Imogen took the coffee and sipped it happily, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I know what we are hunting and where to find it."

"How?" she asked suspiciously, ingesting another gulp of the scalding liquid.

All of a sudden Dean had an overwhelming feeling that he shouldn't tell Imogen where he got his information, he felt like she would react negatively and he wasn't sure why, but he went with his gut, "When I got the donuts I questioned one of the locals. Apparently there's this legend about people who go camping on even numbered years getting abducted and dragged into a cave two miles into the forest. Sounds like a wendigo to me."

Slowly Imogen nodded, "You're going off what one local said?"

Dean shrugged, "Unless you can somehow communicate with the vics."

Imogen rolled her eyes and strapped on her boots, "C'mon," she said, "Let's go kick its ass."

A little over an hour later Dean and Imogen were standing at the mouth of the cave. Both had a flare gun in hand and Dean had a bottle of lighter fluid tucked into his back pocket.

"You know," Imogen breathed, tightening her grip on the gun, "It's kind of fitting this is a wendigo case."

"Why's that?" Dean asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well, the first case I ever worked. It was a wendigo."

"Was it?" Dean asked, "I don't remember that."

"Yeah, I helped you and Sammy track it. You told me to stay behind at the motel but I didn't listen. I went there on my own. Snuck in after you and Sam. I got to the monster before y'all even realized I was there and lit the bitch up. I was scared as hell, thought I was gonna die."

"Oh," Dean nodded, "I do remember that, actually. Oh man was I pissed."

Imogen smirked a little and nodded, "Yeah, well rightfully so."

"Oh yeah. You're lucky I didn't kill you… Hell, I probably would have if I hadn't been so relieved that you were okay.""

The female Winchester chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, other than that awful burn I was okay."

Dean sighed softly, "Come on, let's do this," and without another word both of the Winchester's headed inside of the dark cave.

It was well after dark before Dean and Imogen made it back out of the cave. Their only light was beaming down from the moon and the two hunters exchanged exhausted looks.

"Damn," Dean grunted, reaching his good arm up to his sister's face, "He got you good."

Imogen scoffed and jerked away from him, "Not as good as you Mr. Dislocated Shoulder."

"Yeah, yeah, you know you're gonna have to pop it back, right?" Dean grunted painfully, as the two limped the two miles back to the Impala together, "You drive," he said, digging in his pocket and tossing her the keys.

Imogen grabbed them quickly and got in the car, waiting impatiently for Dean to do the same. Once he was inside she got them back to the motel. They got inside and both collapsed onto their respective beds.

"Ugh, I'm so exhausted," Imogen groaned, running a hand through her sweaty, dirty hair.

"That wendigo was one mean mother," Dean exhaled, pulling his bag over to him with his good arm and getting out the bottle of whiskey. For a couple of minutes he awkwardly tried to open it with one hand before Imogen took it from him and opened it, taking the first drink before passing it back.

"Drink up," she told him, "You're gonna need it if I'm gonna pop that arm back."

Dean nodded and turned the bottle up, chugging down more than was probably necessary, "Okay," he breathed as he slammed the almost empty bottle on the bedside table, "Let's do this!"

Slowly Imogen got up off of the bed and walked over to him, she put one hand on the front of his shoulder and one of the back, "Okay, take a deep breath."

Dean did take a very deep breath.

"On the count of three," she assured him, "One… two," and then there was a loud snapping sound as she forced his arm back into socket.

Dean let out a loud groan of pain as he fell back onto the bed, "You and Sam! You're supposed to say three!" he whined.

Imogen just rolled her eyes and fell back onto her own bed, "Want me to dislocate it and do it again?" she asked, " If not, complain to someone who cares," she slipped her boots off and curled into a ball and closed her eyes, "I'm exhausted. Wake me if something interesting happens."

"You got it," he mumbled, reaching for the remote and turning the TV on, flipping through the channels for a while. He dozed off halfway through an episode of Dr. Sexy MD but soon after it went off he was woken up. He wasn't sure why, but something felt off. When he opened his eyes he could see a figure standing in front of the TV. Quickly the hunter grabbed for his gun and pointed it at the figure.

"Dean," the voice Dean quickly realized was Castiel announced, "Dean, we need to talk."

"Jesus Christ, Cas. Do you want me to shoot you?" Dean asked, lowering the gun as his heart raced.

"No, I don't."

"What are you doing here?" he looked over to his sister, "Let's go outside. I don't want to wake her."

Castiel nodded and headed for the door, Dean slipped his gun into the waistband of his pants and followed after the trench coated angel.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, "I hardly see or hear from you in months and now you're just popping in for no reason to ask about my sister?"

"How was she on the hunt?" Castiel asked.

Dean let out a long sigh, very obviously trying to keep his cool, "She was fine Cas. She kicked ass, like always."

"Do you think she's back in business?" he asked seriously.

"Yes! Cas! She's all back to normal. I mean her baby died and everything but she's all better. Why the hell do you care?"

"We need her hunting."

Dean's face contorted in confusion, "You need her hunting?"

"Yes. Imogen needs to be sharp."

"What the hell are you talking about, man?"

Castiel was obviously annoyed and not particularly wanting to have this conversation, but he made the decision to humor Dean for the time being, "Her son," Castiel's eyes widened, "She didn't hunt after she had him, right?"

"Mhm," Dean agreed, not liking where this was going.

"She was rusty. Before she became a mother she could have taken that werewolf with her eyes closed. However, somehow it managed to get into her room without her hearing. In fact, it's my understanding that she didn't hear the monster, just the cries of her child before he died."

Slowly Dean nodded, "Yeah… Wait, how do you know all of this?"

Castiel didn't miss a beat, "She's been praying to me."

Dean sighed, "So what, you're not gonna tell me that you're just checking up on her well-being, are ya'?"

"I need to know that she's able to hold her own. That she can fight if need be."

"What's going on, Cas? What do we need to be prepared to fight?"

"Nothing, hopefully. If everything goes as planned."

"Cas, give me something. You're starting to freak me out."

The angel sighed, "Heaven is at war with itself, you know this."

Dean slowly nodded, "Yeah, Cas. We know."

"I want to make sure Imogen is prepared to fight if the need presents itself. My brother, Raphael, will come after the three of you if it comes down it. She needs to be in practice."

"Wait," Dean paused, taking a small step towards the man, "Did you kill Oliver?"

"Of course not," Castiel replied, looking extremely guilty.

"I don't believe you," he took another step towards Castiel and locked eyes with him, "Did you kill my nephew?"

"No, Dean," Castiel cleared his throat, "I did not kill him."

"Did you know he was going to die?"

"Not exactly. Not until after he was dead."

"But you said some bull about his death being long foretold or whatever," Dean growled.

"I did say that," Castiel nodded, "That was a lie."

"So why the hell couldn't you bring him back!" Dean yelled, grabbing Castiel by the coat and slamming him up against the wall, "Bring him back now!"

"No!" Castiel barked back, "I won't do it. I can't give my enemy something else to hold over my head. Yes, it's a sad thing for her that her son died, but it's a good thing for the world."

"It's taking everything in me not to stab you right now, you son-of-a-bitch."

"Dean!" he exclaimed, "Just listen to me, okay? Yes, Imogen's hurting. Yes, she will probably never fully recover from this. But she will be a better hunter. She will track and hunt and kill without abandon. This is a good thing, Dean. We need her."

Dean's head shook back and forth in disapproval, "You could have brought him back, yes or no?"

Castiel hesitated before he answered, "Yes I could have."

"And you chose not to?"

"Correct."

"Then you as good as killed him."

"I'm sorry you see it that way, Dean."

Dean would have continued his rant but the angel disappeared.

"CAS!" the oldest Winchester hollered at the top of his lungs, "CASTIEL YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH YOU BETTER GET BACK HERE!"

He heard a door open and he figured it was someone who was trying to sleep coming out to yell at him, but when he turned around he saw his sister standing there, wrapping a blanket around her own body. He was suddenly filled with an incredibly panic. How much had she heard?"

"Em," he cleared his throat loudly, "Did I wake you?"

Imogen nodded slowly, "What are you doing out here? And who the hell were you yelling at?"

Quickly Dean walked over to her and ushered her back into the room, closing and locking the door behind them, "I stubbed my toe."

"Really?" she yawned, sitting back on her bed, "All that screaming over a stubbed toe?"

"Yep," Dean nodded.

Had Imogen not been so utterly exhausted she would have seen right though his lie, but she was and she believed him, "That's a bit dramatic, but okay."

"I'm sorry kid, I didn't mean to wake you up. You should go back to bed."

Imogen nodded and slowly laid back down. She tried for a few minutes to fall asleep, but Dean's restlessness kept her awake.

"Hey Dean," she yawed, propping herself up on an elbow to look at him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No… You?"

He shook his head, "Still trying to wind down."

"From the hunt?"

"Yep," Dean nodded, popping the 'P'.

The two sat in silence in the dark for a few minutes, Imogen laying on her back and staring at the ceiling.

"It's my fault," she said, ending the silence.

"Huh?"

"It's my fault that Nick's gone."

Dean sighed and rolled to face her, he started to turn on the light but realized that it might be easier to talk in the dark, "No it's not."

"Yes it is," she stated, "I should have told him about werewolves and demons and monsters. I didn't. I wanted to be normal, I wanted to be safe."

A small smile crept over Dean's face and he was glad it was dark, "You sound like Sam."

"Yeah, and you see how well that worked out with him and Jess."

"Em, it's not your fault."

"If I had told him… If I had taught him… He could have taken out the bastard instead of jumping on it like an idiot."

"Em-" Dean wanted to say something reassuring but nothing came to mind.

"It was my job to protect him, and I couldn't even do that," she sniffled a little and wiped at a tear that came to her eye, "He took the news like a champ."

"The news that he was going to die?"

Imogen shook her head, "No," she took a deep breath, "I lied to him about that, told him there was a cure before I shot him. He never even saw it coming. I didn't want to worry him. I mean the news about monsters and stuff. Hardly even questioned it. One of the last things he said to me was that he wanted to learn to hunt. He wanted to track down all those bastards and take them out one by one with me."

"He sounds like a really great guy."

Imogen scoffed, "You wouldn't know, you only met him the one time you beat the shit out of him."

"Sorry about that," Dean breathed.

"No you're not," she said plainly.

"You're right, I'm not sorry about that. I am sorry I didn't get to know him though."

"Me too," Imogen agreed.

"Em, it's not your fault he's dead."

"You can say that all day long, it's not gonna make a difference in how I feel."

Dean sighed, "Okay, can I ask you something then?"

"Fine."

"Do you think it's Sam's fault that Jessica died?"

Imogen was silent.

"That's what I thought," he said softly, lying flat and closing his eyes, "Good night, Em."

"Good night, Dean," and almost like there was nothing weighing on her mind she fell asleep.

Dean on the other hand didn't have the same luck. Instead he spent most of the night in and out of a restless sleep. What Castiel had told him was really eating at him, but he knew he couldn't tell his sister. If she thought there was a way to get her baby back she would stop at nothing, and Dean knew that perusing Castiel would be pointless. This was one secret he would not ever be able to share with anyone and expect his sister not to find out. He knew he couldn't even tell Sam.

Imogen and Dean took it easy on the way back to Bobby's. They were both still pretty beat up and worn out from the hunt so they didn't drive through the night, instead they spent a couple of nights in motels and took the scenic route home. It was nice, riding in the car with her brother, joking, laughing, and arguing about where to eat and bathroom breaks. It was the happiest she had been in a very long time, which she knew would make leaving that much harder, but she pushed that thought out of her mind and just enjoyed what time she had left with him.

The two made it home without issue. Imogen spent the next week and a half resting up and healing from the hunt when she decided it was time. She had been debating leaving without a word, but after everything that didn't feel right.

So she packed up her bag and early in the morning after she was sure everyone was awake and headed down the stairs. All three of them were so wrapped up in a show that they hadn't even noticed her come down the stairs. She dropped her bag at the front door and walked over to stand in front of the television.

"I wanna talk to you guys about something," her tone was light, but all three of them were at attention, Sam even shut off the television.

"What's up?" Dean asked, looking a bit concerned.

"First I want to start off by saying that I love all three of you, very much. I wouldn't have made it this far without each of you."

Bobby raised an eyebrow, Dean's concern didn't fade, and Sam didn't even blink.

"I want you guys to know that I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Dean repeated.

"Yes, I'm going to go off on my own for a while."

Sam shook his head and stood up, "No," he stated, "You can't do that."

"I'm not asking permission, Sam," she replied calmly, "Listen, I love you for everything you've done for me. But now it's time for me to spread my wings."

"Where are you going?" Dean asked, "How long?"

"I don't know," she told him, "I just know that I need to be on my own."

"You're still a minor," Sam told her, "You're still my responsibility."

"I'm seventeen Sammy, my birthday isn't even that far away. You really want to try and keep me here for a couple of months?"

"No," Dean interrupted, slowly getting to his feet, "Imogen, if you need to go out on your own then you can."

Sam glared at his brother, "I can't believe you, Dean!"

"Me either," Imogen agreed, "Dean, I thought you were gonna be the one to take it hard."

Dean just shrugged, "You've proven over and over that you're going to do what you have to do. It's time we let you start making your own decisions."

"No!" Sam barked, "You two can't be serious," he shook his head, "Em, you're just a kid. You can't go out on your own."

"Sam, with all due respect I didn't have to tell you I was leaving. I could have just left in the middle of the night without a word. But I didn't, I wanted to tell you goodbye."

"Well I'm sorry," the long-haired Winchester shook his head, "I don't accept this."

"That's your right, I guess," she sighed and looked to Bobby who was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, "Bobby?"

Slowly the old man raised his head, "Be safe," he told her as he got to his feet, "Call if you get into trouble," and without another word he walked passed her and up the stairs.

Imogen let out a small sigh, "Goodbye," she hugged Dean and then turned to hug Sam who took a step back, "I love you, Sam… I love you both," she paused briefly, "You need to be Sam and Dean again. Sam and Dean were always so good together, such an amazing alliance."

"That's complete crap, Imogen. You know we are Winchesters. We stick together," he insisted.

"Face it, Sammy. Hunters do better in pairs, not in trios. You and Dean can work a lot better without me weighing you down. Without you having to worry about saving my ass every step of the way," she kept her tone calm and controlled, because she knew she was making the right decision.

"You're walking out on your family," Sam stated angrily as he turned on his heel and walked away.

"He'll be okay," Dean told her, "Just check in occasionally, all right?"

Imogen nodded, "No promises," she semi-teased.

The two hugged one last time before Imogen grabbed her bag and headed outside. Dean watched from the window as his sister secured her backpack, got on her moped, and gravel flew as she pulled out of the driveway.

Dean would deny it if anyone had asked him, but a tiny part of him was relieved that she was leaving. This thing he had learned from Castiel was eating at him day in and day out and now that she was gone he didn't have to worry about accidentally slipping up and mentioning it to her. He hated that she was gone, but she was right it was better this way.


	42. Epilogue

**A/N: This is the end of this story. If you're interested I'll post info to a sequel at the end of this short epilogue.**

It was six whole months before Sam or Dean heard anything from their sister other than a short text or a very brief phone call. Actually, they didn't just hear from her they ran into her. Sam and Dean had showed up on the same case that she was working.

The brothers were both excited to see their sister and she acted like she was too, but something was off. The three worked the case together and to the boys it felt just like old times. As a matter of fact they both thought she was going to ask or agree to come back on the road with them and they were both over the moon about it. But she didn't feel the same.

As soon as the case was taken care of she was out of town. Dean went to her room the next morning to invite her to breakfast, but when he got inside her stuff was cleared out and there was only a note.

 _Had to run. Hope you understand._

 _-Em_

As much as Dean wanted to understand he didn't. He didn't understand how his sister could want so little to do with them. It hurt badly, and it took a lot of convincing of himself to decide that going after Imogen wasn't a good idea. It would just push her further away from them.

So like the Winchesters do they muddled through. They took it one day at a time and hoped that Imogen would call. But she didn't, in fact her correspondence became so rare that Sam and Dean started getting worried that she might be in trouble. They did manage to get ahold of her and they talked briefly, but the next time Dean called that phone it had been disconnected and he finally got the message.

Imogen didn't want anything to do with them anymore.

The girl was good about staying under the radar. On the rare occasion she would bump into a hunter she knew they would innocently report back to Sam and Dean and that's how they knew their sister was still alive, but there was no communication between her and the boys. Not for a few years anyways.

Several years would pass before Dean and Sam would see their sister again. By then Bobby would already be gone and the angels would have fallen.

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! This story and all of your wonderful comments have meant so much to me.**

 **The sequel, Perfectly Imperfect, is going to be quite different from this story. I hope y'all enjoy it. The first two chapters are up on my profile now. Please give it a read!**

 **Here's a preview of the sequel:**

 _There are some people in life that you can fall out of touch with for weeks, months, even years at a time, but no matter what when you are reunited it's like you were never apart. That's how Imogen felt about Bobby. She knew that no matter how long she stayed gone that he was going to welcome her back with open arms and like she hadn't left._

 _So when she pulled into his driveway as the sun was setting and saw nothing but rubble where the house used to be she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Slowly she got out of her car and walked over. The house had burned, not recently either. By the looks of it, it had burned well over a year ago. What the hell had happened since Imogen left? She'd heard nothing of this, nothing at all. Granted, she'd made herself pretty scarce the last few years, avoided hunters to the best of her ability, and when she couldn't avoid them there was only a few who knew she was Sam and Dean's sister anyways._

 _Imogen had no idea about this though. Was Bobby even alive? She couldn't remember the last time she'd even heard anything about him, much less bothered to check. Sam and Dean were basically hunter celebrities so she was sure she would have heard if something had happened to them. But all of a sudden she wasn't so sure and she needed that reassurance._


End file.
